Just a Green Rider
by Bammer1982
Summary: A feel-good story about a girl and her dragon.  Set in the Tenth Pass.  *On hiatus due to computer difficulties, please see final chapter for more information.*
1. Chapter 1

**Just a Green Rider**

**Chapter One **

Candidate class. Again. Seriam stifled a sigh, and glanced around the filled classroom. With a scant sevenday left before the earliest bets for the Hatching date, candidates were still being dropped off. Seriam _did_ sigh aloud this time, thinking about the great golden egg that was hardening, constantly tended and watched over by a jealous Perinath.

_Who in their right mind would want to be a queen rider, anyways?_ She thought, but even she had to admit that there was a faint trace of bitterness coloring her tone. The endless parade of useless Holder girls traipsing about Ista Weyr these days was about all she could handle.

Then again, who was she to sniff at these girls, when she had stood on the sands three times before with no success? She glanced out of the corner of her eye at the swarthy, solid young man beside her. Caesey had stood with her, and had almost reneged on his promise to continue to stand with her until they both either Impressed, or were too old to be considered. They both had sat through the, "So sorry you didn't Impress, there's no shame in it," speeches, had both snuck off with the shame they weren't supposed to be feeling burning their faces and making them flee the sands. They had both sought comfort in a stolen wineskin and the shadows of the rocks at the Weyr rim, watching the twin moons Belior and Timor set, slowing and silently getting drunk.

"Seriam!" The usually kind voice of the Weyrlingmaster L'ary cracked across the room. His bright blue eyes were hard as stones, and his bristly white hair seemed to be standing up even more than usual in his fury. "No doubt you think that you can get away with dozing in class because you've been here a few times before, but you must pay attention!" A few candidates from the back of the class tittered softly, giggling behind their hands. "Firestone duty for you today, and I want you to come up to the board and list all of the names of the Weyrs, in order from oldest to newest."

"Seriam the Thrice-Failed." came an ugly hiss from the back of the room as Seriam walked up to the board, picking up the piece of chalk and starting to write down the Weyrs, starting with Fort. The hiss came from a group of Holder-bred lads, their leader being a charismatic youth with sandy brown hair and hazel-green eyes. His lackeys all snickered.

"Oh, so you think it's funny that she's no newcomer here, do you Jordann? And you, Jerome? Look around you, lads. There are twenty-five eggs ready to break shell on those hatching grounds, and even though the date for the festivities draws ever nearer candidates are still being flown in. There are currently forty-one of you in this room. And don't think you're safe being men, either. Although the majority of late candidates will be girls, there will be a few boys straggling in, for a search dragon will search out all available people, whatever the gender. So, almost half of you will be coming back to us, and…" L'ary cut off, interrupted by the sound of someone knocking at the entrance to the classroom.

"New candidate for you, sir." The girl following the young weyrling in was tall, gangly with her height, and had red hair flowing down to her shoulders. She looked at the floor, and in so doing bumped a shoulder into the wall on her way in. Seriam winced as the girl absentmindedly massaged the offending shoulder, and paused in her writing. "Name's Rheannon, from Keroon Hold, searched by green Traranth and rider S'ri."

"Oh, and S'ri didn't see fit to deliver her candidate on her own? No matter, take a seat Rheannon and we'll find you a bunk in the dorms after class."

"Yes, sir." Rheannon breathed, the sound barely carrying to Seriam's ears, although she stood barely more than a pace away. Rheannon moved to the nearest desk, barely managing to avoid banging her hip into the table-top as she slid into her seat.

"Seriam, those names, if you please. I didn't forget about you standing up there."

Seriam sighed, and continued writing, struggling with the names of the newest Weyrs in the Southern and Western continents.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

As the class filed out, L'ary instructed Seriam to stay behind. With a sympathetic glance from deep-brown eyes, Caesey left the class to go assist with the dragon-healers, the task set to the rest of the candidates.

"Yes, sir?" Seriam stood, her stance straight, and her hands clasped loosely behind her back.

"Seriam, you need to pay attention. I know this is boring for you, but if I let you get away with poor behavior that sets an example for the rest of the class. An example I don't want set."

"It's just, I was thinking about the gold egg, and all of the silly girls that are being dragged out here just to give the bronze riders someone to-"

"Watch your tongue!" L'ary snapped, his eyes hardening. "Those girls are candidates, just like you. I won't have you belittling them."

"And that's what I was thinking when you called me up to the board. That I am less than those pretties, because they may succeed where I'll fail." She tried to look stoic, burying her feelings deep down inside, affecting a casual attitude about her potential failures. But she ruined it by breaking eye contact and staring miserably at her bare feet after that.

L'ary tried to hide his surprise. For all her sixteen Turns, Seriam had always been exuberant, jumping at any opportunity to show off. He looked upon her sun-bleached hair, pale gold streaks mingling with darker browns. Her skin was tanned from all of the hours that she spent outside, from climbing the cliffs up to the Watch stones, or going dragon-diving while helping to bathe the dragons. Her body, although full-figured, wasn't fat. Instead, it was muscular. And she had indeed followed in her family's footsteps by being a bit on the short side. But Seriam had never been one to let being short slow her down, and to hear her give voice to doubts like those she'd just uttered…

_I think it is good for her. She needs to grow, and this is a good first step._ Dorianth's deep voice soothed L'ary, jumping to a conclusion that he had just realized he had been heading for all along. _Could you imagine the messes she would've gotten into if she had Impressed her first time, three years ago?_

_I was mildly relieved that she didn't Impress that time. I would've had her marked down as having only a 50 percent chance of surviving training and Threadfall then. But you're right, she has grown up quite a bit._

Seriam stood, staring at her naked toes, wondered if maybe it was because she was too brash, too loud, and what dragon would want a runty tomboy anyways? Maybe it was just as well, this way she could climb the cliffs and sail the seas when time allowed. She wasn't tied to a walking appetite, or to mating cycles, or to fighting Thread, or anything. And she just wasn't worty anyways, she'd never found a clutch of firelizard eggs, and she couldn't even hear dragons anyways…

"Girl, you know my feelings on your chances of impressing." L'ary's voice broke into her rebellious and dark thoughts, his eyes soft with compassion. "Your dragon just hasn't hatched yet. Don't give up. And keep an open mind, your lifemate may come from an unexpected quarter. Now go, there are firestone sacks waiting to be filled."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Seriam quickly lost herself in the task of filling firestone sacks. There was a reason that this was one of the duties handed out to disobedient candidates. Luckily for her, she had hands already roughened from climbing the cliffs and the occasional sailing trip, so at least she was spared the embarrassment of a trip to the Healer ward at the end of her shift. However, she would still need to run off to the baths to wash the stink out of her hair and clothes.

Grab more stone, stuff it into the waiting carry-sack. Once the sack was full, the next person in line would close it and throw it into the pile of full sacks, grabbing an empty sack from the bin of empties, and opening it up to receive more 'stone. The rhythm was slightly hypnotic, and before she knew it she drifted off into a slight reverie.

The Tenth Pass. The Pass that wasn't even _supposed_ to happen. The super-computer AIVAS had, with the help of a white dragon and the biggest queen ever, theoretically ended the threat of Thread from Pernese skies forever.

And, for three hundred Turns, it had appeared as if that's just what did happen. Old trades that had once been limited by low growth potential thrived, and with their successes new trades were created. Anything to do with growing trees became wildly popular as the once-threatened resource flourished and became abundant. Fragrant soap, paper, and wooden furniture were at first all the rage, and then became commonplace. Herds multiplied, and vegetables were readily available, so food became something that everyone had more than enough of.

The Weyrs, in light of the way things were, found themselves in a bit of a bind. Most of the dragonriders didn't want to "sully" their reputation with ferrying people and cargo to and fro, but that attitude didn't last long. Although the dragon populations thinned, they didn't die out completely, so the dragonmen needs to find some way to justify their own existence. High Reaches, Igen and Telgar Weyrs all became major trade hubs. Dragons could be seen flying endlessly in and out, popping _between_ to get to whatever needed transporting, and coming home at the end of the day.

Ista, with Southern, decided to open up the then-diminished Weyrs to tourism, allowing affluent Lord Holders and their families stay in a weyr for a sevenday. With the succulent coastal foods available and the beaches within walking distance, people looking for a getaway came from all over Pern, relaxing and taking their ease. To top it off, the guests were treated to weekly shows from the local dragons, complete with daredevil stunt flying and mock-Thread fighting battles.

Fort Weyr soon turned its dusty corridors into a museum, and Benden took over as a judicial center. With more time for the Pernese to enjoy themselves, mischief was easier to find. Monaco Bay Weyr remained open as a Weyr for aging dragonriders to live out their last few Turns in peace.

For once, where being a dragonman was the highest privilege on Pern, now children were pushed to join the Healer Hall, for from the temporary contact with AIVAS medical science became something that the most promising sons and daughters sought out. The Astronomy Hall also became extremely popular, looking and mapping out the stars, watching the heavenly bodies in their slow dance, trying to understand Pern's place in the greater cosmos. "I'm going to run away and Impress a dragon!" many a child would ell at their parents. The parents, to their credit, rarely took such a ridiculous threat seriously.

However, it was lucky for Pern indeed that such studies were popular. One night, a young journeyman astronomer saw a baleful red star blinking at him from the night sky. Feeling a cold sense of dread, he quickly called his fellows and showed them what he'd seen. They all laughed uneasily under the weak light of Belior and Timor, but decided to watch the strange star and report on what they saw.

A month passed, with the star growing clearer and clearer in the lenses of the telescopes stationed all around Pern. The team of astronomers reported on their findings, and found that they weren't alone. With these impossible findings, the Headmaster of the Astronomy Crafthall found himself reporting it to Fort Weyr's Weyrleader.

D'gen, rider of bronze Nemieth, reported that the Weyrwoman's dragon Glacath had risen the week previously, and it had been a long flight. Calling in a meeting of all of the Weyrleaders showed that over half of the queens had risen, with long flights over the past month. Advising all to keep in touch on clutch size, the Weyrleader mulled over what this would mean for Pern. If the Red Star was on its way back, then AIVAS had miscalculated, and Pern was not Thread-free. And this time not only was there was no super-computer to formulate a crazy plan to eliminate the foe, but there was no Lessa to go back in time to save Pern.

It took the work of many people to put the pieces together, and to come up with a way to present it to the Lords and Masters of all of the Holds and Crafthalls of Pern. In the end, enough were convinced of the return of the Red Star, and work began on outfitting the dragonmen for fighting. The queens worked hard, producing clutches of astronomical sizes and clutching queens as fast as they could rise, repopulating the undersized Weyrs all across Pern, and even populating some new Weyrs opened to cover areas previously unpopulated.

The first Threadfall of the Tenth Pass came and the Weyrs stood ready, ever-vigilant against their ancient enemy.

And now, here Seriam sat, bagging firestone for Threadfall that was to hit Nerat Hold in a few hours. She reached for more firestone, and jumped at the hand on her shoulder.

"That's enough for now. You've bagged plenty to see us through this Fall. Thanks for the help!" The smiling face of the weyrling in charge greeted her, jerking her out of her thoughts. Her clothes stank, sweat ran freely between her shoulder blades, and her tunic reeked. With a tired smile and a groan, she stood up and trudged across the Bowl, back to the dorms, looking forward to a bath, clean clothes, and dinner.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

After sinking into the heated bath, Seriam fell into a half sleep. Her arms ached slightly from the exercise, and she suddenly felt really tired. Her eyes drifted shut, and she relaxed, sinking into the water until her chin touched.

Suddenly, her head was dunked under, and in surprise she sucked a small amount of water up her nose. Coughing and spluttering, she came back up for air, and glared fiercely at Caesey, who was laughing so hard he looked about ready to fall in.

Grinning now, Seriam grabbed his ankle and sent him crashing into the bathwaters. "Hey! I was dressed and ready for dinner!"

"Well, wher-face, I got water up my nose!"

"At least you don't stink anymore!" Caesey leaned in and sniffed loudly, "Well, you don't stink too much, anyways!"

Seriam shoved him again, and both of them roared with laughter.

"Come on, we need to head to dinner." Caesey dragged himself out of the water, dripping wet. He grabbed a towel, and did his best to dry himself off. "Guess I'll have to change."

Seriam rose out of the water, grabbing a separate towel for herself. First, she chafed her long hair until it frizzed out about her head, and then she grabbed her robe, wrapping it around herself. "Well, lets get going. All this talk of food has got me hungry." Dropping her towel into the laundry bin, Seriam headed out the door, naked feet making faint slapping sounds on the rock floor.

"After dinner the wings are going to go ride Thread. Do you want to go watch?"

"Sure! You know I never get tired of that!"

"I was thinking about bringing some of the others to our place. They seem pretty all right, and some of them look like they could use friends around here. You know how rough some of the other kids can be."

"Yeah, like that tail-fork Jordann. What a deadglow. Just because his father is the Lord Holder of Keroon, he struts around here like he'll walk off with a bronze! I feel sorry for any hatchling dumb enough to take him on."

Caesey snorted in agreement, their mutual loathing of the arrogant Holder boy totally matched. "But you never know how it's going to play out on the sands, Seriam. I mean, think back to the last Hatching, where that girl Hannarah Impressed that blue. That's something that only happens once in a few generations, and for it to happen to such a quiet, frightened little thing…"

"But they say she can hear all dragons, and that blues are drawn to that sort of thing. Besides, Seloth was a strange sort of blue anyways. Everyone thought he was a green when he first broke shell."

"True. I don't think I've ever seen a color quite like his before. And fancy that, you remember the dragon's name!" Caesey grinned, shoving Seriam lightly with his shoulder.

"Well, I've certainly bathed him often enough! He seems to need a bath every couple of days! Maybe _that's_ why he Impressed to a girl, a boy would've been too messy for him!"

They both chuckled as they headed into the co-ed dormitory. Seriam headed to her bunk, which was clear across the room from Caesey's. Although some Weyrs bunked boys and girls separately, Ista had found that if all were bunked together, there were a lot fewer incidents of candidates sneaking off together in the night. They just kept the girls mostly on one side of the cavern, with the boys on the other.

Quickly, the two changed into clean tunics and shorts, and Seriam slipped on a pair of sandals. It seemed like ever since food had been mentioned her stomach hadn't stopped growling, making a ferocious racket. She had glimpsed in Caesey's direction a few times, to see if he'd noticed, but if he had he wasn't laughing at her. _Maybe his stomach is growling too, _she thought, _after all, the Dragonhealer Hall does tend to keep one busy. Almost as busy as the firestone pits._ "So, how were your rounds today?"

Their footsteps and voices echoed off of the hallway walls. "Well, that last batch of Threadscored dragons seem to be healing nicely, but the Hall was just about out of numbweed. So, that's what we spent most of the time doing."

Seriam looked over at Caesey in shock. "Is that how you knew I was in the tubs?"

Caesey chuckled. "Yeah. Saw you there dozing off, came back here and changed, and when I went back to the tubs you were still dozing! I figured at the rate you were moving that you would miss dinner altogether! So, I figured I'd do the gentlemanly thing and wake you up." He smirked, looking over at her, swiping an errant piece of chocolate-brown hair out of his eyes.

Seriam punched him in the shoulder. "You could've just said something! You didn't need to drown me!"

"But what's the fun of that?"

"Well, at least your clothes would still be clean!"

"True. But I think it was worth it."

They rounded a corner and came out into the dining hall. There was a pleasant burble of conversation, with the occasional voice rising above the general hubbub in excitement, exasperation, or annoyance. The two friends got into line for stew, grabbing up bowls of the thick, spicy fish and vegetable soup and a small loaf of bread each. Seriam grabbed a small bit of cheese while Caesey netted a few fruits. She then fell into step slightly behind Caesey as he led them to the table with the candidates.

Seriam looked around at the faces she was sitting with. She had mostly kept to herself this class, not being the usual leader of the "Prank Squad," as her cronies had sometimes been known. It had hurt too much the last couple of times when most of them had Impressed, and her and Caesey had been left standing alone. She didn't really keep in touch with most of them, as they were too busy with weyrling duties and training to have time for her crazy ideas for adventures around the Weyr.

To her left sat Caesey, and she gave him half of the cheese while he put a couple redfruits on her tray. To her right sat a tall boy, hunched over the last spoonful of soup in his bowl.

"Are we that late?" Seriam asked in shock. "There was plenty of food left, and I didn't think it took me that long to get out of the bath…"

The boy startled up, and looked at her sheepishly. "I, uh, I eat very fast," he said with a nervous little laugh.

"Oh!" Seriam giggled. "Sorry, that was a horrible way to ask for an introduction. I'm Seriam, by the way." She held a hand out to the boy, who took hers and shook it with a firm grip despite the shy way he held himself.

"Jonathon. I transferred here from Benden Weyr where I was fostered." His voice was slightly nasally, especially coming from such a tall guy, but it was pleasant nonetheless.

"Shards and shells! You're Weyrwoman Tricia's son, aren't you!"

Caesey elbowed her hard in the rib, and she stared at him in shock. "He doesn't want the whole sharded class to know, Seriam. Button your lip." Caesey growled into his soup.

"Oh." Deflated, Seriam sat down and started eating her dinner.

"It isn't a big deal, just don't go shouting it, or anything strange like that," Jonathon said with another little laugh.

Seriam glanced at the other girl at the table. It was the tall red-headed girl from class earlier that day, and she was quietly eating her soup, watching the interaction between bites of dinner. Seriam was typically wary of other girls, especially latecomers, but this one didn't seem to be one of the useless pretties that some of the besotted bronzeriders would bring in.

Seriam let the silence drag on, tucking into her dinner instead. She was filled with questions for both of the others, but her stomach had remembered that it was empty after her first few bites, and now demanded that she do nothing but feed it. A few minutes later, with over half of the soup, all of the cheese, and a few bites of bread gone, she looked up again.

"And you're Rheannon, right? I saw you come in today."

"Yeah." Her voice was slightly low, and had a musical quality to it. She tucked a stray piece of light red hair behind her ear, and sat back. "I was working on the fishing nets this morning, and then a green dragon lands not too far. The dragonrider jumped down to tell us about the imminent Threadfall and to go over who was on groundcrew duty and whatnot, and the dragon just keeps looking at me. Finally, the rider looked over and stood very still for a few minutes, and then she looked over at me. I thought I was going to get yelled at for just standing there instead of completing my chores, but instead they call me over and before I know it I'm getting whisked off to come here for Impression!"

"Do you want to be a dragonrider?" Caesey asked.

"Of course! What kid doesn't? It's just strange, you know? I started out the day thinking of myself as nothing more than another dock drudge, and ended the day in the Weyr as a candidate."

"That does sound pretty crazy." Seriam said, sectioning one of her redfruits and passing the pieces around. The slightly sweet, slightly tart fruit was a perfect finish to the spicy soup dinner, and she sat back with a contented sigh.

"How was firestone duty?" Jonathon asked.

"Tiring and smelly, but it gives me time to think. So, do you guys have any plans for after dinner? The wings will be gathering to take off for Threadfall, and I know a great place to watch them!"

Everyone finished up their meals, and they packed up their dishes, heading to the bins to deposit them for cleaning. A drudge looked up from gathering dishes, and said, "Oh, Seriam! Your mother is looking for you."

Seriam sighed. "Well, I guess I'll catch up to you guys later."

"Who's your mother?" Jonathon asked, curious.

"Headwoman Traceigh." Seriam said with another sigh.

Jonathon gave Seriam a sympathetic wince, and waved.

"Good luck, Seriam." Caesey said, grinning mischievously.

Seriam trotted out of the dining hall and headed for the Headwoman's quarters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

When she arrived, her mother was heading out the door, carrying a basket of clean linens. "Oh, Seriam, there you are. Help me bring a tray up to your Granda's weyr?"

"Yes mom." She turned to follow her mother, jostling the smaller red-haired boy following along behind. "Rickley, mom pulled you up too?"

"Yeah." The boy jostled her right back, and with a shock Seriam realized that he wasn't much smaller than her any more. She had been spending so much time in candidate training and performing duties that she no longer had much time to play with her younger brother. She also realized that she missed him a little, and that thought surprised her more than the change in his size. "Not that I mind too much, Granda's stories are fun."

"Well, afterwards, do you want to come with me to see the wings leave?"

"Sure."

Neither kid could see their mother's smile. Although it was unusual on Pern for a family in a Weyr to stick close to each other, Traceigh had never minded being different than the rest, and this was one thing that her and her children's father had agreed on. R'ard, rider of bronze Gartanth, was a Wingsecond, and as such could've had his kids fostered at any of the other Weyrs. Instead, they had decided to keep their children here, and remained active in their lives, watching them grow from snot-nosed babies in breechcloths to young adults. Traceigh also had a good feeling about this hatching, thinking that it was time for her daughter to shine.

They collected the dinner trays, and headed on out to the retirement ward. The warm, hospitable climate of Ista Weyr had made it a mainstay for retiring and injured dragonriders. There were currently forty older dragonpairs living out their last few Turns here, regretting the fact that they could no longer fly Thread, but understanding that a weak dragon was more of a hazard than a help in Threadfall. The corridors were dimly lit, and a slight, cooling breeze sighed softly around the three as they headed to one of the farther weyrs.

Traceigh opened up the door, and both kids filed in behind her.

"Seriam! Rickley! How nice to see you!" An older gentleman of average height stood, his salt-and-pepper hair still clipped short in the style that dragonmen favored. Both kids quickly deposited the lightly-laden trays on the table, rushing over to get their hugs. Seriam felt warm and happy, and as she pulled away she asked, "Granda, may I go outside and say hello to Duth?"

"Absolutely! Let me just get started on this fine meal and you both can go give him a good scratching!" Granda straightened up, and Seriam couldn't help but notice that he moved a little bit slower these days, and was more stooped over than she remembered him being. He settled himself down, and started noisily slurping his soup. "Wonderful! Just like your Grandam used to make!"

Traceigh shook her head at the noise, but smiled indulgently. She then shooed the kids out onto the weyr ledge, where Duth lay snoozing. He had been a strapping bronze dragon in his hey-day, but was now more grey than bronze, his hide slightly wrinkled. He cracked open an eye, and it whirled a sedate blue-green. Both kids hugged his snout and scratched his eye ridges, thinking of the times that they had been given flights around the Weyr bowl on the back of the gently giant. Duth sighed in contentment, not needing to tell his lifemate how much he enjoyed the attention. Seriam leaned her head into the dragon's neck, breathing deep of the slightly musky smell of sun-warmed dragon. She had heard some of the Holder girls complaining about the way dragons' smelled, but Seriam loved it.

"Seriam, come help me turn these sheets down please?"

Seriam sighed, sorry to have to leave Duth's side, but headed inside to assist with making the small cot.

"Did I ever tell you about that first Fall? Scary it was, and little did we show-boaters know that flying pretend Fall is nothing like the real thing!" Granda's rich voice went on, telling a story both kids could recite by heart. _He would've made a decent Harper,_ Seriam thought as she tucked the corners in, smoothing the sheet on top. He spoke in between mouthfuls of food, eating every bite on his tray. For all of his seventy Turns, he still ate like a younger man, not stopping until that last section of redfruit was gone.

All too soon, it seemed like he was finished, and it was time to go. The sun was getting ready to set, and Seriam knew the wings would be gathering soon to fly. She wanted to go to her friends, but was still sad that her time with her Granda was over.

"Come and give me another hug kids! I know you want to go to your ledge and watch the show!" They were both gathered into another hug. "Ah, Seriam, I wish I could see you fly. You'd make an excellent dragonman." And he kissed her head.

Seriam laughed, "Oh Granda, you will see me fly! Just you wait!" She hugged him around the waist again.

He chuckled. "Of course, dear. Of course. Now go, or you'll miss all of the fun!"

Waving goodbye, both kids ran out of the weyr and headed for their favorite ledge, where Seriam knew she would see Caesey and her two other new friends.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Author's Note: Thanks for all of the comments! Hopefully I can keep doing this with my school schedule and all. Well, so far so good anyways. Glad to be writing along with everyone here, hugs to all of you!

* * *

><p>Seriam scrambled the rest of the way up to the "secret" ledge used by weyrbrats and weyrlings alike over the years. The ledge sat high up, overlooking the bowl, where currently the Istan wings were assembling for their nighttime Threadfall over Keroon. The setting sun cast long shadows, but the ledge itself was bathed in orange light, and the sky slowly darkened. Dragonmen grabbed sacks of firstone, tightened up straps, zippered up jackets, and shuffled into place. The dragons who were so graceful in the air hopped into place, looking rather silly out of their element. By torchlight hides of green, blue, brown, and bronze gleamed with good health, eyes sparkling in the night various shades of blue and green, faintly becoming tinged with reds and oranges as the dragons became ready for the fight with Thread.<p>

"Seriam! You almost missed it!" Caesey called back to her as she clambered up to the vantage point, Rickley following just behind her. "What did you ma want?"

"We went to go visit Granda, and I got caught up listening to stories again." Seriam smiled sheepishly, sure that the newcomers would find her silly. Jonathon seemed entranced by the dragons, and lost in his own thoughts, and Rheannon smiled shyly.

"You're very lucky to know your family," she said quietly.

Seriam blinked. That was an odd statement, coming from a Holder girl, even if she was just a drudge. She was about to ask about it, when Caesey elbowed her sharply. "Shells, man, I can see it's go time! No need to get rough!"

All of the kids held their breath as the queens flew out, stately and graceful and almost glowing. Weyrwoman Tricia was missing, as golden Perinath brooded over her clutch, but the four Junior Weyrwomen made for a stately display anyhow. All of the other dragons seemed to still completely as the queens took their places to the right and slightly behind the Weyrleader's wing. Seriam spotted her Da, mounted on his great bronze Gartanth, sitting at attention, waiting for Weyrleader O'yin's signal to rise.

O'yin's fist went up, and then swept down. There was a great rush of air as the dragons all sprang aloft simultaneously, and some of the torches guttered out. Seriam followed the dark shapes against the lighter sky until they all blinked away, going _between_ to Keroon. She sighed. No matter how many times she watched them take off, it never ceased to be amazing.

"Do you worry about them much?" Rheannon's voice softly brought Seriam back to the here-and-now, and Seriam shook her head as if waking up from a nap. She turned to look at the tall girl, and found the piercing blue eyes staring at her rather intently.

"Who?" Seriam asked, feeling a bit like a dim-glow.

"Caesey told us before you got here who your father's were. Both Wingseconds in the Weyrleader's wing. First into Fall, and typically the last to come home. Does it worry you?" There was mild curiousity in her voice, and Seriam found herself answering without even stopping to consider her thoughts.

"Of course, at least a little. That's why most fathers who are dragonmen don't really keep in touch with their children. That, and the lack of time, since they have to care for their dragons all of the time. But he's always come home safe before, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. Our da's are some of the best riders there are!" Her chest puffed out with mock pride, and she struck a ridiculous pose, trying to dispel the slight unease that the girl's words had brought about. Caesey, who had been nodding along with Seriam's words, suddenly punched her in the stomach, and with a loud, "Ooof!" Seriam crumpled to the ground, laughing.

Jonathon finally turned back around, and shook his head at the two weyrbrat's antics. "So, what else is there to do around here once the sun sets?"

Seriam sat up, rubbing her middle slightly. "Well, we could try to sneak out to the bay and go swimming. Or sneak to the Hatching Grounds and take a peek at the eggs. Sadly, there aren't any big events coming up really soon, because then we could go filch some bubbly pies from the cooks." Seriam trailed off, scratching her head as she tried to think of other things to do.

"Bubbly pie sounds good right now." Rickley, who had been sitting rather quietly in the back, said softly.

"Who's this?" Jonathon asked, finally noticing the red-headed kid.

"My brother, Rickley. He's pretty okay, and is still smaller than me so he can squeeze into places that we can't anymore, which comes in handy sometimes. So, what are we up to now?" Seriam firmly steered the conversation back, more interested in what mischief they were going to get up to than who her kid brother was.

"Well, first things first, we need to get back down off of this ledge. So, let's get!" Caesey set actions to words, and started climbing back down to the tunnel that was right behind the ledge. The rest all followed suit, scrambling and slithering their way backwards down the rock. The tunnel below was dark and deserted, and their feet raised small puffs of dust as they shuffled back to the more populated areas of the Weyr.

"I think we should help out the healers. They always seem a bit understaffed, and I'm sure our help would be greatly appreciated." Rheannon's quiet words called Seriam to pull a face.

"Or we could go have fun. Why would you want to hang around the smelly healer's ward, anyways?"

Rheannon smiled lightly as she dusted off her trousers. "I just want to give back a bit, and I want to make sure I have a place if I don't Impress!"

Seriam sighed. It was sound logic. "All right, we'll go help out, and then see if there are any sweetrolls in the kitchen." With that, the group headed to the healers ward, where they spent most of the night fetching and carrying various supplies to the healers tending wounded dragons and their men.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Seriam stretched, groaning softly. The previous night's activities had left her slightly sore, and her muscles protested moving. She had also had problems falling asleep, and her brain was protesting waking up. She slowly sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

All night long, Rheannon's words had haunted her. "Don't you worry about them?" She had looked into the faces of all of the wounded, scared to death that her father would be the next. She had never worried about it before, and the multiple scars on her father's arms, chest, back, and legs attested to the fact that he had been Threadscored before. Gartanth's hide even had a few scars. But she had just never worried before. Her father fought Thread, and had so far always come home safely, so it had never occurred to her that he might get seriously wounded, or even die. And now that the thought was there, it refused to go away.

She pulled on her clothes with the other candidates, but was silent. She didn't smile, or joke, or attempt to push Caesey around. She just put on her clothing and headed for the kitchens, not even looking around to see if anyone was walking with her. Just watching her own feet hit the tunnel floor.

Quick footsteps sounded, and then she was surrounded by people. Caesey looked over. "Heya, what's up? You've been quiet all morning."

Seriam glanced up and forced a quick smile on her face. "Nothing. Just didn't sleep well last night and I'm trying to clear the cobwebs from my brain."

Caesey raised an eyebrow at that, but only said, "Well, if it becomes something, talk to me, okay?"

Seriam nodded, and glanced around. Rheannon and Jonathon were there too, and the four headed to the kitchens. They grabbed up some fresh meatrolls, still steaming from the ovens, and a pitcher of klah with some mugs. Seriam choked down the food, which tasted like dust in her mouth. _What is wrong with me today? I need to snap out of this or I'm definitely going to be in trouble with L'ary during class…_

"So, why is L'ary on weyrling training duty? I saw Dorianth yesterday and he seems in fighting shape, so shouldn't he be fighting Thread?" Jonathon asked after finishing his meatroll.

"It's said that Dorianth has a long memory for a dragon, and that once the Weyrleaders found out he was pulled from flight duty and became the old Weyrlingmaster's apprentice. When the last guy passed, L'ary stepped in to fill his boots."

"Huh. Has L'ary confirmed this tale? We talked about dragons having short memories in our training yesterday, so it seems really unusual..." Rheannon's voice trailed off, and she took a sip of klah.

"L'ary says that he was given the job because he's obviously the best at torturing unworthy youngsters like us!" Seriam laughed lightly, hoping it didn't sound too forced. Caesey looked in her direction and smiled, appearing happy that she was back to normal. "Speaking of which, we better get to that classroom in a hurry, or else he's going to tan our hides so well, they'll make him an apprentice leatherworker!"

Everybody laughed, drinking down their last gulps of klah, and deposited their dirty dishes on the way out. The walk to the classroom was blessedly quick, and they arrived there just before class started.

"Today, we're going to talk about the hierarchy of dragons and what the various colors do during Threadfall. I know some of you have heard this a few times before, but as you can see, we have some new arrivals." L'ary indicated two new girls sitting up by the front row. "Crystal, from the Master Beasthall," a tall, skinny girl stood up, her arms criss-crossed by myriad small scars, her long white-blonde hair braided down her back, "and Shihanna, from Nerat." The second girl stood, this one a touch shorter and much more voluptuous, with raven-black hair spilling unbound down her back in dark waves. "I expect all of you to welcome them and assist them in catching up with your learning. Now, as I was saying-"

Suddenly, a high-pitched keening filled the room from floor to ceiling. The sound vibrated around, and several of the Holdbreds covered their ears, trying to block out the dreadful sound. Seriam's face went white, and she looked up to L'ary to see what had happened. _None of the injuries was serious, it can't be your father, who could've passed?_

"What is that noise?" Rheannon whispered, her query barely heard by Seriam who was sitting right next to her.

"It's a dirge. The dragons are mourning. One of them went _between _forever." Seriam couldn't make her own hoarse voice do anything more than whisper back. "No matter how long you live here, you never get used to it." And then she noticed that L'ary was looking straight at her.

"Seriam, I'm so sorry. H'rick passed away, on bronze Duth. Your Granda, I'm so sorry. I know you two were close. You're excused from class today." L'ary's eyes were filled with a compassion that he rarely showed while being Weyrlingmaster, and Seriam stood, heading for the door.

As she moved, she felt like her arms and legs were made out of wood, and whoever the puppetmaster was must obviously be an apprentice. The picture almost made her laugh hysterically, but she choked it back, trying to walk with stoic poise for the door. Her movements, which could hardly be called graceful at the best of times, were at least usually fluid, but now she felt like she was jerking back and forth, practically marching up the aisle, which also seemed to have increased in length.

_He was old, you knew this was coming, so why do I feel so sad?_ She walked through the door, and stopped at the wall, her breath hiccupping slightly. She took a few seconds to steady her breathing, and started heading down the hallway again. Around the corner came running a tall, solid figure, and before she could tell who it was and move out of the way she was wrapped up in a big hug, surrounded by strong, muscular arms.

"It's all right my little Ser, it's okay, he passed with Duth, they both flew into _between_ together, the way he wanted to go. It's okay, my daughter." The quiet voice soothed her, and she cried softly into the brown tunic in front of her, the strong arms surrounding her belonging to her father.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The memorial service was the following day. Despite Seriam's feelings on the matter, the sun shone brightly, and a fresh breeze blew through the weyrbowl, carrying the scent of tropical flowers. A modest group of people gathered, from weyrlings that had known H'rick when they were little more than weyrbrats, to Weyrwoman Tricia herself. Seriam's friends were there too, sitting in the back. Seriam noted, with a small start of surprise, that the drudges that had cleaned his rooms and brought him meals were also there. _If that doesn't speak to a man being well-loved, I don't know what would._

Seriam's father, R'ard, cleared his throat and began, speaking in a clear voice that carried easily over those assembled. "H'rick, born Henrick, rider of bronze Duth, was a great man, as many here would attest. He was a superb rider, even if at the start of his career he was just a stunt dragonman in one of the Ista Weyr's shows. He flew in the first Threadfall of the Tenth Pass, and flew for thrity more turns after that. He didn't appreciate being told to retire, but he and his bronze lifemate took it upon themselves to keep occupied by terrorizing the local weyrbrat population. They also gave out a lot of rides to children. He loved the kids around here, and I'm sure more than one of you," R'ard indicated the weyrlings and Seriam's friends, "remember your first breathtaking dragon ride around the bowl from Duth's back. He was a good dragonman, and a great father. Even though he had his dragon to care for, he always made time for me as a weyrbrat. And I've continued that legacy with my own children." R'ard put his arms around Seriam's shoulder on one side, and Rickley's shoulder on the other. Seriam sniffled slightly, and glanced over to see that Rickley's eyes were a little misty. "I am proud to have known such an honorable figure, and I know he will be sorely missed. Thank you all for coming." R'ard's voice was hoarse at the end, and he cleared it a few times before turning to his kids. "You guys can go to your friends now. Just stop by your mother and give her a quick hug." He hugged them both briefly, and kissed their heads.

Seriam hugged her father back hard, and then headed off of the small temporary platform to the group of people mingling. The buzz of conversation rose slowly, as each group of people shared their personal stories of H'rick and Duth. There were one or two older riders, who had ridden with them in their prime, and those riders were now regaling some young weyrbrats with tales akin to the ones H'rick used to tell. Despite the sad feelings to the day, there was laughter, as most of the tales were ones to make you smile, and Seriam felt her own mouth pull up at the corners slightly as she remembered her Granda.

Seriam hugged and kissed her mother on the way. "Dear, don't forget to grab some food once it's set out. And something to drink too. I've got to go see your father." She hugged both Seriam and Rickley, and then headed to R'ard's side as he began to wander through the groups of people.

Caesey leapt up as soon as Seriam got to her friends, and he also embraced her. _Today is a day for hugs, then,_ Seriam thought, and returned the hug fiercely. All of them headed off to a remote corner of the gathering, and sat about.

"Sorry about your Granda, Seriam. He sounds like he was a wonderful guy." Rheannon reached a hand over and touched Seriam's knee lightly. "You looked like a ghost when you heard the news. It's good to see some of your color has returned."

"Yeah, I thought, for a second, that it had been my da. It's funny, I'm sad Granda's gone, but I'm also relieved, in a way… That;s horrible, isn't it." Seriam stared at the ground, suddenly morose.

Rheannon, jerked back slightly. "Is this about that question I asked? About you being worried about your father when he flies Thread?"

Seriam nodded, a lump growing in her throat.

"Shards! I need to learn to keep my mouth shut! No, no, no, I didn't mean to make you worry! I just… Well, you see…" Rheannon took a deep breath, and then continued. "I never knew my parents. Yes," She held up a hand as Seriam looked up, about to ask how that was possible, "I know it's more common for Holderfolk to keep in touch with their families, and to be close-knit. But my parents had my brother, then had me, and then left. They just packed up, and sailed away with the tides. They were never heard from again. And my grandparents never spoke of them. I was just curious, because I've never had any family to worry about, not really. So, you see, you're really very lucky. And I was just musing aloud, wondering what that would be like. You know, to have someone to worry about, and to be worried about in turn. Anyways, sorry it bothered you so, I really need to watch that."

Seriam sat there, her mouth hanging open. She had never even considered this possibility, instead letting fear prey on her own mind. She shook her head, feeling a bit like a dim-glow.

"Rheannon's right, Seriam. You are lucky." Jonathon spoke up from beside Seriam, and she turned to him. "My mother… Well, you know her. My father is Weyrleader of Benden Weyr. He never stopped to give me the time of day. Oh, sure, I received Turn's End presents from him, but he never spoke to me. What I wouldn't have given to have him acknowledge me in front of a group of people, let alone hug me… And after I didn't Impress the first time, like my brother… Well, he couldn't wait to get me out of Benden, given that I was such a big disappointment. And mom just showed up and took me, figuring that this clutch would give me better luck. They both think I should Impress, and that I should nab a bronze too, but…" Jonathon's voice trailed off.

"Do you want to be a dragonrider?" Seriam found her voice, and asked Jonathon the same question she had asked Rheannon just the other day.

"Yes. But after being completely passed over on the sands… I know how that feels, and it's not pleasant. I'm not sure I can face that rejection again. And I like to draw, part of me thinks I would be very happy being an itinerant artist, or something. I don't know…" He trailed off again, fiddling with his pantleg.

"Well," Seriam said slowly, "Keep an open mind. Attend this Hatching, and if it doesn't work out, then go see about apprenticeship to an artist, or something. AS for the color of your dragon, don't worry about that. The dragons will sort you out. And you'll get whoever is right for you. Not even Weyrwomen can decide that." She finished resolutely, and realized for the first time in a few days she felt more like herself.

Caesey grinned at her, seeing the change in her demeanor instantly. "Well, I say it's high time to do this memorial right. I have some stories about old H'rick that are worth sharing, and I know Seriam and Rickley do, too. But first, let's fetch some food. It looks like it's been se out."

As everyone stood, Jonathon reached over and gave Seriam a hug. She wrapped her arms around him, and then she felt more arms around her back. Suddenly, the friends were all huddled in a huge hug, and the love flowed between them like a tangible thing. Seriam suddenly felt like this was an important moment, and like this group would never be broken. They would be friends forever, through thick and thin.

And then her stomach growled, interrupting her revelation.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Author's Note: Whew! It's taken me a long time to get here, certainly longer than I originally thought! Thank you to all of the readers who have stuck with me until this point, once we get through Impression there will be the previously promised dragons! ;)

Hugs to all of you, hope this story finds you well. :)

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><p>A full sevenday had passed since the memorial. Seriam had felt more like herself afterwards, and got to know her new friends better. They had fun swimming, climbing, and exploring, Seriam and Caesey showing off everything about their home in between candidate lessons and duties. They had even trawled the shoreline, hoping to catch a glimpse of a wild firelizard clutch, but they had no luck with that. Still, one couldn't complain about an afternoon spent outside in the bright sunshine, and they had gone for a swim afterwards.<p>

Over that time, Rheannon had finally mentioned some of the silly Holder notions about Impressions. Well, Seriam thought the ideas silly, but she had to admit that they would be pretty scary if she hadn't already known better. Anything from girls being little more than sexual play-things for any randy rider to candidates who were un-Impressed were eaten by baby dragons. Although even Rheannon had to admit that the last one was pretty stupid, especially given that three of her new friends were previously un-Impressed and not in a dragon's gullet.

Candidates had finally stopped coming in, and the classes settled back into a pattern. Even though Seriam already knew every speech L'ary was giving, she paid attention this time. The lessons had stopped focusing on things like hierarchy of dragons and weyrfolk, and were more like pep-talks designed to gear the candidates up for the hatching. Talks about keeping your mind open, not letting the fear or doubts in, and not getting too fixated on any specific egg or hatchling were the topics discussed. Making sure everyone had a white robe and the appropriate thick-soled sandals was also discussed. How to pay attention to the dragonets to avoid getting mauled, what to do once you did Impress, and what to do if you didn't. That everyone was welcome at Ista Weyr if they wished to stay, or they would be given a ride back to wherever they had been Searched from. All of these things were the focus now as the eggs became hard as rocks, and the candidates as nervous as a pack of wherries set aside for dragon dinners.

This morning the class was covering the basics of dragon anatomy again, with Dorianth as a patient model. He stretched out his neck, peeled back his lips to show off his impressive fangs, stretched out each of his legs and spread his fingers and toes, spread his wings, and stretched out his tail, allowing the candidates to poke and prod him where they would. He showed them his different sets of eyelids, and they stared into his multi-faceted blue-toned eyes in wonder.

His chocolate-brown hide was gleaming in the sun, supple and shining with good health, as he shot a glance at L'ary.

_I enjoy this. They always manage to scratch wherever I itch._

L'ary snorted softly. _You just like being the center of attention. Especially with all of the pretty young girls around, you old flirt._

_Hm. Maybe that's it._ The rich mind-voice was tinged with humor, and L'ary had to fight down a smile.

Suddenly, Dorianth lifted his great head, and looked to the hatching cavern. A low hum swelled out of his throat, the sound felt as much as heard by the candidates. Some of the more hopeless candidates shrieked, and Seriam was surprised to note that not all of those were girls. Dorianth's eyes began to glow purple as his humming grew even louder.

"Well, ladies and gentleman, it seems that the show is about to begin! Hurry now, let's all get to the weyrling cave and get dressed for the event you've all been waiting for!" L'ary's voice boomed out, startling the candidates out of their reverie, and for once he allowed all present to see his excited smile.

All of the kids hurried to the barracks, trying not to run but not wanting to dither either. Seriam felt her heart start to speed up, even though she knew there was a bit of time before the actual hatching started. She grabbed Caesey's hand and squeezed it briefly for good luck, grinning at him as they walked.

Everyone made it into the barracks without incident, and turned to getting dressed. In a matter of moments the transformation was complete. Where before there were kids dressed in every color imaginable talking and jostling each other, now there was a room full of nervous and quiet candidates garbed all in white. L'ary poked his head in, and saw that all was ready. He motioned in someone who was standing just outside the door.

"Weyrling A'ris, rider of brown Siegith, will keep watch over you until I come back to bring you to the hatching cavern. I need to run off to make sure everything is in order. Follow him down to the classroom, and wait for me there. See you then!" And L'ary was striding down the hall to see to preparations.

"Well, let's all go down to the room and have some lunch, shall we? With all of the excitement I'm sure you never would've remembered to eat. Just try to get something in your stomach, as it's going to be a long day. Even though I doubt many of you feel like eating." A'ris winked at the assembled candidates, trying to ease the tension.

Seriam found herself grinning back, despite her own nerves. It felt like the unfound clutch of firelizard eggs had hatched in her belly, and the impatient beasts were swarming around, tickling her insides.

They got to the room, and settled down to wait.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The dragons had been humming steadily for about an hour when Traceigh pulled herself away from her work and towards the Hatching grounds. Ellah, Caesey's mother and Traceigh's right hand, joined her just before she reached the cavern. Ellah was braiding her shoulder-length dark chestnut hair at the last minute while she walked. They both entered together, and found the seats being held for them by R'ard.

"J'im said he was on his way, Speketh should be dropping him off shortly," R'ard stated as Traceigh and Ellah took their seats. J'im was Caesey's father, and bronze Speketh frequently worked with R'ard and Gartanth during Fall.

Suddenly the dark-skinned man, colored much like his son, appeared beside them and sat down heavily. "O'yin was doing rounds of the Healer's ward when the humming started, and I wanted to change into my best! So, I've been scrambling for the last half hour. My apologies, ladies." He flashed a quick grin, his black mustache quirking up at the corners, and gave them a half-bow from where he was seated. "Thank Faranth for our dragons, otherwise I never would've made it in time!"

"If there were no dragons, we wouldn't even need to be here in the first place!" Ellah said, laughing.

"I wonder where we would be and what we would be doing if there were no dragons." R'ard mused as the chuckling died down.

"Who knows? We'd all be eaten by Thread, I guess." Traceigh said, smoothing her skirts. She, too, had dressed in her finest gown. "I have a feeling about this one, you know. I think it's finally the kids' time to shine."

"You said that about the last Hatching, too," R'ard teased, "I'm just glad I didn't get sucked into betting on that one!"

Traceigh pushed at R'ard's arm lightly, sticking her tongue out at him. "How did I know you'd bring that up?"

"Because we've all known each other for over sixteen turns now, and we've had conversations like this before?" J'im offered, trying not to laugh and to look helpful instead.

Traceigh snorted, and Ellah mused, "Has it really been that many turns since we all met? It's amazing how fast the time has passed. Part of me is still surprised to be attending these things, instead of checking in on Caesey running around in breechcloths with the other weyrbrats."

There were nods all around as the parents considered the time that had passed. They had all watched the two kids grow up, running and jumping, playing and exploring all around Ista Weyr. The sheer amount of trouble those two had managed to find was staggering, but they had always kept each other safe. From sneaking bubbly pies from parties to going sailing on a small skiff and getting lost just out of sight of the island, the pair had always kept their parents wondering what trouble they would get into next. And even though all four of the parents had found most of their time taken up by all of their duties, they had watched the kids, amazed at their growth and strong friendship. It had even been Gartanth and Speketh that had found the 'brats after they had landed not a half-hour flight down the coast, while others had swept the ocean itself. They had been making a crude shelter and catching some finger-fish for dinner, looking completely unrepentant about their escapade, and delighted that they'd get to fly a-dragonback back to the Weyr. Traceigh shook her head. That little scamp was now practically a woman grown.

_Wouldn't it be wonderful if she Impressed that queen? Then maybe she could be Weyrwoman. Maybe that would tame her._ Traceigh eyed the great golden egg sitting perched between Perinath's great forepaws. The egg shivered, and Perinath watched it, her head swinging up and down the line of eggs. All of them were moving to some degree or other, but the gold egg seemed bound and determined to be the first to crack.

The seats filled up, and the humming swelled until it became less of a sound heard by one's ears and more something felt in one's belly.

Suddenly, Perinath's great golden head swung towards the opening to the Hatching grounds, where all of the white-robed candidates were lining up. Traceigh could see Caesey, but Seriam was hidden by the shoulders of the taller candidates. The humming stopped dead, and the whole cavern was filled with silence as the candidates all filed in. Suddenly Traceigh spotted Seriam in the middle of the line, standing in between a dark-haired girl and an almost white-haired girl, her head barely reaching their shoulders.

R'ard leaned over and whispered in Traceigh's ear, "I have a feeling about this one too."

"You said that last time." She whispered back.

The first egg split wide open.


	11. Chapter 11

Author's Note: Okay, I'm done teasing you guys. ;) Although this chapter had fewer words in it than I originally imagined, hopefully it turned out okay. Thanks for sticking with me. Hugs to my readers! :D

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><p><strong>Chapter 11<strong>

Seriam stood there on the sands, grateful for her thick-soled sandals. Even with them on, she could still feel the heat coming up through the soles of her feet, making her sweat. She looked around, trying to locate her friends. She had squeezed Caesey's hand one last time, for good luck, on her way onto the sands, but had lost track of them after that. The churning in her belly almost made her regret the meatroll she had eaten earlier. It wouldn't do for her to throw up all over the sands, so she stood there and repeated her mantra. _Welcoming thoughts, open mind, welcoming thoughts, open mind…_ On and on it went, running in circles like a sun-struck wherry.

The first egg split wide open, its occupant spilling out onto the sands. The small dragonet tossed his head, sending the shell spinning off of his bright blue hide. He staggered to his feet, and galloped in an awkward, flopping gate straight to one of the candidates.

Jordann looked down in surprise. He had been so sure he was destined for a bronze… Maybe if he just looked away…

But then he actually stared at the small, perfect dragonet in front of him. All ideas of what he had been "destined" for flew right out of his head.

"His name is Porianth!" Jordann's voice rang out in triumph, his face reflecting nothing but love and disbelief.

_Jordann? A BLUE? Well, I guess stranger things have happened…_ Seriam let out the breath she had been holding, and looked back at the eggs. Two more had hatched, and a brown and bronze marched over to Jordann's cronies. Seriam felt slightly miffed, but started back in on her mantra.

Two of the smaller eggs broke apart at the same time, and two almost identical dark green hatchlings went crawling across the sands. Seriam watched one, when her eyes were pulled up to the great golden egg.

For all that it had been the first to start wobbling, the golden egg had taken its time about actually hatching. Finally, a large split halved the shell, and a regal-looking dragonet reared a honey-colored head, looking down the line of candidates. Seriam sucked in a breath. She was just too beautiful for Seriam to be able to look away. Where the other dragonets had seemed almost clownish, she carried herself with a royal air, graceful even from birth. The great, jewel-toned eyes locked with Seriam's, and she felt her eyes go wide…

And then the world went spinning out from under her feet. Seriam landed on the hatching grounds, bracing herself with her hands, just as a dark shape pounced on her midsection. Her hands stung for an instant, and she felt small talons digging into her thighs and one of her arms, when she was once again entranced by a pair of whirling, blue-yellow eyes.

_S'am, I am hungry, you need to feed me._ A boisterous voice sounded in her head.

"Wha?" Seriam felt the grin starting to spread, splitting her face wide. She didn't notice the pain from the hardening talons, or from the hot sands. "You say you're hungry? Well, let's get you fed!"

The small, dark green dragonet launched herself off of S'am, heading for the buckets of meat. Small wings, way too tiny to actually fly, flapped and flopped awkwardly, as if the dragonet was going to take off. S'am levered herself up, and then noticed the blood on her robes.

"Oh." She said in a small voice. She picked herself up and, grimacing, started walking back across the sands, trailing behind her headstrong new friend. A couple of figures headed towards her, and reached her just as she reached the edge of the sands. She leaned gratefully against the strong arm, too busy focusing on her destination to even notice who held her.

"Steady there, we'll get you to her and sit you down. Luckily we always have numbweed on hand, and these wounds look like they should be pretty superficial. Hey, what's her name?" The soothing sound of Healer Oryion spoke softly in her ear.

"Piranth. Her name is Piranth."


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Traceigh had gotten up off of her seat in the stands as soon as she had seen a small, green cannonball hit her daughter in the knees and knock her over. She wasn't sure if Seriam had just gotten in the way, or if the dragonet had been trying to get Seriam's attention, but she did know that she wanted to check in on her daughter herself. Not that she had ever seen anything horrible happen during a Hatching, beyond some fairly mundane bumps and bruises, and the occasional scratch, but one still heard stories, horrible tales of candidates being eviscerated by overeager hatchlings. She had never seen it, but the image was still in her mind.

R'ard was right behind her, bellowing for people to get out of the way. Most people were too caught up in the spectacle unfolding on the sands to pay the couple any mind, so they ended up shoving through the crowd. There were angry murmurs and muttered apologies alike from the spectators, but Traceigh didn't pay either response any mind. She just wanted to get to the floor, and suddenly their prime seats were too far away for her own comfort.

_Leave it to my Seriam to create some kind of mess during these things. Shards and shells, don't these people know how to move? I hope she's all right…_

Finally after a dreadful eternity, they reached the side of the crowd and could see Seriam sitting on a chair, the small forest-green skinned dragonet with its head in a bucket right next to her. R'ard slowed down, seeing that Healer Oryion was already applying numbweed to a couple of spots on one of her legs, the other already bandaged. He recognized the glow on Ser's face, and grinned in exultation. The small dragonet was hers, and his daughter was now a magnificent greenrider! He felt his chest swell with pride.

"Seriam! What on Pern happened? Are you all right?" Traceigh's voice rang out across the space as she jogged up to her daughter.

"I'm fine, mom! And look, this is Piranth, isn't she beautiful? These are only a few scratches, no big deal…"

At Seriam's words, the hatchling's head pulled out of the bucket, her eyes going from blue to orange in a heartbeat. The small beast started to croon, a sad sound coming from her muzzle.

"Oh, no no Piranth, I'm all right, see? You had to get my attention! I'm so sorry I wasn't paying attention to you, you did nothing wrong!" Seriam slid out of her chair, dropping to the ground next to the dragonet, who put her small forepaws on Seriam's shoulders, still crooning into her face. "You did right, my girl! You had to! I'm the dimglow here! I love you!" At that, the multi-faceted eyes slowed their whirling, and the dragonet bumped her snout into Seriam's forehead.

Oryion cleared his throat. "Young Seriam, if you could please sit back in the chair so I can wrap your other leg?" He had a bemused smile on his face which only grew wider as Seriam's face flushed with embarrassment.

"Sorry Healer Oryion." The dragonet settled down to finish her meal, and Seriam settled back into the chair. "And it's S'am now."

"S'am?" R'ard raised an eyebrow. "Ser, girls don't typically truncate their names…"

"I know da, but it's what Piranth called me, and I like it so I'm going to keep it." S'am grinned.

"Well, if you're okay Ser, erm, S'am, I've got to see to some last-minute preparations for the feast tonight. Try not to get mauled on your way there." And with that, Traceigh brusquely turned away, trying to surreptitiously swipe at the tears of relief that had formed in her eyes.

R'ard smiled. Traceigh thought she had everyone fooled, but not him. He turned back to his daughter. He felt like he would glow with pride forever. She had Impressed, and would go on to be a dragonrider, just like he had always known she would. Just like she had always wanted.

_The young one is pretty, but it looks like the Hatching is wrapping up. I'll meet you outside later? I'm just going to lay in the sun for a while._ The mellow voice of Gartanth filled his thoughts for a second.

_Sounds great. Have fun, and don't flirt with too many of the ladies out on the ledge._ R'ard felt wrapped in tenderness as he considered his daughter and the now-awkward hatchling in front of him. It wasn't too hard for him to remember an equally awkward bronze dragonet who had found something worth loving in his younger self. He had been a rapscallion before then, worse than S'am even, but Gartanth had given him a purpose, and when he met those eyes he knew he would never roam from the Weyr, or from his new lifemate.

"Well, well, looks like our little Seriam is now the rider of Piranth, and is now S'am. She's beautiful, S'am." L'ary's voice, warm with confidence came from behind R'ard. "Once she's done feeding be sure to get her to the Weyrling barracks. All of your stuff has been moved to the room, but you'll have to move it to your bunk. Settle her down for a nap, and then meet everyone at the dinner afterwards so you can be introduced."

S'am glanced up in surprise. "How did you know her name? And my name?"

"Oh, I have my informants." He winked at her. "She's done now, off you go."

Piranth had indeed pulled her now-bloody muzzle out of the cold bucket, and was blinking sleepily at S'am. L'ary pointed to the small rag hanging off of the side of the bucket. "Be sure to clean her face before you set off."

S'am wiped Piranth's muzzle clean, and placed the rag back in the empty bucket. She stood, and bowed to both of the older riders. "Good evening Wingsecond R'ard and Weyrlingmaster L'ary." She then set off, talking softly to her new friend.

"You're going to have your hands full with those two." R'ard murmured softly. Oryion chuckled.

"Don't I just know it." L'ary replied, before turning off to give instructions to his other new wards.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

S'am walked down the corridor, accompanied by her new lifemate. Piranth trotted along beside, and although the walk wasn't far, Piranth was obviously tired by the time they reached the door to the Weyrling barracks. Seriam opened the door, ushering the small dragonet inside, and quickly located her carisak on the floor. Picking it up, she moved to one of the bunks towards the back of the room. She noticed that several of the bunks were already occupied, and she could hear the soft breathing of the sleeping dragonets. One blue-hued eye cracked open, glowing in the dark, but closed again just as quickly.

Piranth clambered into the stone bed provided for the dragonets right next to S'am's bunk, and settled down to sleep. She went to curl up to sleep, and then stopped, staring intently at S'am as S'am set about getting changed.

"Oh!" S'am exclaimed, pulling a new darkly-colored dress out of her 'sak. She pulled off the note attached to the dress, and sat down on her bunk to read it.

~_Dearest Seriam- I always knew this day would come, so your father and I had this dress commissioned for you. I know blue is your favorite color, and there is an orange sash to represent Ista Weyr to wrap around your waist. Hope it fits, and congratulations! We are so proud of you, my dear.- With Love, Mom~_

S'am smiled and wiped away the tears in her eyes. Lucky, indeed. She had a feeling that wherever she had gone, a letter very like this one would've been waiting for her, attached to a new dress. She unfolded the dress and gasped.

It was made out of a lightweight fabric, soft as silk. The dress would reach almost to the floor, clearing it with just enough room for her to be able to walk around without worrying about tripping on the hem. The sleeves were loose, so they would bell out at the ends a little in the latest fashion. The neckline looked modest enough, but not frowsy.

_I really am sorry about your legs._ A small voice whispered in her mind. S'am turned to look at Piranth, who was watching her pull the stained candidate's robes over her head, displaying her bandaged legs.

"Nothing to worry about. It was an accident, and one that I'm grateful for. After all, you wouldn't have needed to do it if I was paying attention."

_I suppose. But in the future I'll try to take better care of you._

S'am raised an eyebrow at that. "Isn't it supposed to be the other way around? I'll take better care of you in the future."

_We both need to take care of each other. And you heard Healer Oryion, the only reason that you got off as light as you did was because my talons hadn't hardened yet. So, in the future, I'll have to be extra-careful around you. _With that, Piranth settled down to sleep, nose-to-tail.

S'am smiled to herself. What a strange bit of draconic logic, although she could hardly argue with it. She leaned over and scratched Piranth's eye ridges, noticing that there was plenty of room for Piranth to grow in the stone bed. Piranth sighed softly, and settled down even further, falling into a deep sleep.

"Awww. How sweet," came a soft voice from behind her.

S'am just shook her head. "Yeah, it's amazing, isn't it? How did you do, Caesey?" She straightened up, turning around to look at her friend.

"A bronze. His name is Nath, and I'm now C'sey." He smiled and then raised an eyebrow at her mostly-nakedness. "Well, are you going to get dressed so we can get to the party? And what's your beauty's name?"

"I'm getting to it!" With that, S'am turned around and pulled the new dress over her head. It fit like a dream, flaring out at the hips and falling gracefully to the floor. Even though the fabric covered most of her, it breathed enough that she didn't feel stifled, even though the weather was typical for tropical Ista Island, hot and humid. She reached into the bag and pulled out the sash, tying it around her waist and stepping into a lighter pair of sandals. "There! And her name is Piranth, and my new one is S'am."

"Should've known you'd shorten your name just like one of the boys." C'sey grinned, and offered her his arm. "That dress is beautiful, by the way." His smile deepened. "I'm really glad we finally got here."

"Me too." As they stepped out of the dimly lit barracks into the hall, Seriam smiled again. Now that she was out in the light, she could see that the dress was a deep blue that contrasted nicely with the bright orange of the sash. She heard C'sey whistle softly, and felt her face heating in a blush. He was dressed simply, in a new white linen shirt with snug black breeches. "Well, let's get going, shall we? Don't want to be late!"

The friends set off, arm-in-arm, to the dining room, where music and laughter were flowing out into the adjoining hallways. Several eyes turned to regard the couple as they entered, and more than a few eyebrows raised.

They quickly located their friends, standing together at the edge of the room, watching all of the dancing with the same hazy glow of happiness most of the newly-Impressed had on their faces.

"Nice dress!" Rheannon said, smiling broadly and hugging S'am. "It's funny, I've already told half-a-dozen people my dragon's name and I just don't get tired of it! She's Myranth, by the way. I think she was the other green that hatched about the same time as yours, Seriam, but I lost track of you with all of the excitement."

"I know, I didn't even know what had become of you guys! Mine's Piranth. And she called me S'am, so I think I'm sticking with that." S'am smiled, returning the hug. Rheannon moved to hug C'sey while he told her all about bronze Nath.

"Well?" S'am prompted Jonathon, who was standing watching the others.

"Bronze Fasath. Sorry, I'm still a bit overwhelmed. And it's not J'on." He smiled shyly, and S'am whooped with joy, throwing her arms around him in an exuberant hug.

"Well, it looks like this night turned out well for all of you. Allow me to welcome you into the ranks of dragonmen, every one of you." Weyrleader O'yin said, his grin splitting his broad, deeply-tanned face. He clasped arms with the men, and hugged the women, welcoming each of them and asking their dragons' names. When that was done, he moved off to speak to the next group of new dragonriders.

S'am's stomach rumbled. "Well, I don't know about you guys, but I'm starved! Let's get some grub before it's all gone." She headed off to the food, still smiling even though her cheeks were starting to feel tired. "You know what Rheannon? You're right. I'm not getting tired of talking about my dragon either."


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

S'am sat down with her plate in front of her. It was piled high with succulent food, most notably the spicy-sweet ribs that Ista was famous for. Whipped potatoes and wilted greens were also on her plate, with a nice cold mug of fruit-water to wash it down. S'am grimaced slightly. The only thing better about any previous celebrations was that they had wine, but the order had just come down from Weyrlingmaster L'ary that the new Weyrlings were not to imbibe any alcohol. Still, S'am wouldn't trade this for anything else, and she knew she wasn't the only one that felt that way.

She set about devouring her food, and noticed that all of her friends were doing the same. J'on, as usual, was the first done. She was just finishing up her last rib when there was a commotion at the entrance to the dining cavern. Weyrleader O'yin came in, with the beautiful dark-haired girl from candidate class on his arm, with Weyrwoman Tricia on his other side and all of the Junior Weyrwomen in tow. Everyone present rose to their feet.

"That must be our new Junior Weyrwoman." S'am breathed. The girl moved with a regal dignity, her head held high, her hazel-green eyes surveying the crowd. Her dress was a bright gold, a perfect match for the new queen's hide. S'am wondered how the girl had managed that feat.

"Yeah. I think she Impressed right after you, S'am." C'sey said, his eyes locked on the girl. S'am felt a brief pang, gone as quickly as it appeared, and she wondered what that was about.

"I would like to be the first to introduce Junior Weyrwoman Shihanna, who Impressed gold Wierenath." Weyrleader O'yin's voice carried easily around the room and a round of applause greeted his words. "You may all go back to your celebrations."

The group sat back down, and S'am sighed. The music started up from a small group in the corner, and she perked back up at that.

"I don't really know the dances around here." J'on said, a bit wistfully.

"Well, I'll show you while Rheannon and C'sey finish up. Catch up to us?" S'am stood, strangely grateful to have an excuse to get away. C'sey was still watching the new queenrider.

"Okay. Have fun." Rheannon smiled up from her almost empty plate, and C'sey turned back, smiling briefly.

The first dance was a lively one, and S'am had to wonder at the wisdom of dancing on a full stomach. Despite his not being familiar with the local dances, he was a quick study, and the two of them twirled and circled their way around the dance floor. The song ended, and S'am stood there, catching her breath while J'on bowed, playing the gallant with a cheesey grin on his face. S'am couldn't help but laugh. The next song started, and this one was much slower, the dancers standing much closer together.

J'on put one hand on her shoulder, and the other around her waist. As he pulled her up, she finally noticed how much taller he was than her, her head barely reaching the middle of his chest. They danced slowly, and she felt an interesting warmth building up between them. She almost didn't want the song to end.

It did, of course, as all songs do. The two parted again, and C'sey and Rheannon caught up. Another lively song was starting, this one calling for groups of dance partners to make a larger circle, and all four friends quickly joined hands and matched their steps to the song. They all laughed and danced through several more songs before another slow song started.

"May I have this dance?" C'sey asked with a bow, while J'on approached Rheannon.

"Of course." S'am said with a little giggle, taking his arm.

"This has been better than any dream I've had of this day." C'sey said, smiling down at her.

"I know. To think, we're dragonriders now! And you even got a bronze!" She smiled broadly, her little nose wrinkling up slightly. Suddenly she looked, really looked,a t her lifelong friend. He had filled out well in the chest, and his easygoing good looks worked well with the simple outfit. The whiteness of his shirt contrasted with his dark complection, and his hair fell in a rakish way across his brow. She felt herself moving closer to him involuntarily.

They suddenly came close enough to hear a conversation on the edge of the dance floor. Weyrleader O'yin was talking to Lord Holder Greg of Keroon, Jordann's father. They overheard O'yin saying, "Blues choose very special boys. These boys, and very rarely girls, are the most sensitive of our candidates, and in some ways have the hardest roles to fill. Blues are Search dragons, you see. They are the ones that seek out new talent, and bring it back to the Weyr. I daresay we have great things to see from…" O'yin's voice soon faded into the rest of the background noise as the dancers moved past the men.

S'am shook her head, grinning again. "I never would've picked a blue for him. I think there were several bets lost with that pair."

C'sey looked thoughtful. "Yes, but I think it'll be good for him in the long run. Maybe he'll learn to quit judging people so quickly and will instead learn to live and let live."

"I hope so. So, we were talking about your bronze. How does that make you feel?"

"Proud, but a little apprehensive. As a bronzerider I have to be willing to accept the mantle of Weyrleader if Nath ever flies the Senior Queen. And that's a little bit daunting."

"Especially given that you'd be sharing your furs with Weyrwoman Tricia!" S'am whispered, and snickered slightly.

"S'am! I'm serious! That's a lot of responsibility, and, well, it seems a bit much from where I'm standing now." C'sey actually did look worried, so S'am relented.

"True. I'm glad that Piranth is a green, personally. I'll be off doing things while Shihanna is keeping tally of our supplies or watching a clutch harden. The way things stand now suits me just fine."

"Yeah, but I saw you eyeing that little queen. If she had crooked her foreclaw, you would've gone running." C'sey laughed lightly, "Although, I think any of us would've done the same, so maybe I shouldn't tease."

"Perhaps." S'am smiled. The song ended, and the two friends parted with a quick hug. "Come with me back to the refreshment table/ My legs are getting tired from all this dancing."

"Sure." C'sey and S'am walked to the edge of the dance floor as another slow set started up, when a raven-haired figure descended upon them.

"Weyrling C'sey? May I have the honor of this dance?" Shihanna stood there, resplendent in her gown, with her dark hair cascading down her back, a mischievous smile on her lips, daring him to say no.

"Of course, my Lady." C'sey bowed, and took her arm, leading her back to the dance floor, "The pleasure is all mine."

S'am felt another pang in her chest, and moved off to the refreshment table alone.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Before she could grab a drink from the refreshment table, however, a voice said from beside her, "I'm so proud of you S'am!" And S'am was wrapped up in a hug.

Junior Weyrwoman April stood before her. She was tall, with long strawberry-blonde hair that fell in twin braids down her back. Bright golden-brown eyes danced in a pretty face, and her smile warmed S'am's heart. "Thank you, Junior Weyrwoman."

"Pft. When have you ever stood on ceremony with me? I'm still April to you, and I have something from my weyrmate Oryion." April handed S'am a mug, filled with a slightly steaming liquid. "It's mint and chamomile tea, with some willowbark thrown in. I imagine your legs are starting to feel sore again? He wanted you to drink this to help you relax, and to ease any pain." April ushered S'am off to a chair off to the side. "I waited as long as I could to give you a time to actually enjoy your celebration a little bit, but took your moving off for a break as a sign that you were getting tired."

"I was, and thank you. I- Oh shards!" S'am slapped her forehead, feeling like a fool. "I'm so sorry April, I totally forgot to say thank you to Healer Oryion for helping with my legs!"

"Oh, no worries there dear. He understands the needs of a newly-Impressed pair." April smiled easily.

It was a well-known story around Ista Weyr, about how a dragonless Healer was weyrmate to a queenrider. About five turns ago young Journeyman Healer Oryion had been stationed at Ista Weyr, leaving his young, beautiful love April behind. The two had kept in touch using their firelizards, her bronze Beast, and his brown Brennan. It was almost time for her to receive her Journeywoman knots when a blue dragon found her very interesting, and she was whisked away on Search. When April found out she was up for Impression, she begged the Fort Weyrleaders to move her to Ista, where her lover waited anxiously. The Fort Weyrleaders, not deaf to the cries of a young heart in love, allowed this, and April stood at the next Hatching, where she Impressed gold Nerteth. S'am had been old enough to appreciate the heady amount of romance in the situation, and had helped arrange meetings between the two and had helped tend young Nerteth to assist April in keeping in touch with her love. Luckily, Oryion's time at Ista led him to have a greater understanding of Weyr life, and April and Nerteth became one of the best dragon-rider dragonhealer pairs Ista had ever seen. So now the two work in tandem, Oryion healing the riders while Nerteth and April see to the dragons.

"Well, I'm glad for that, I feel like a right dimglow." S'am managed a weak smile, and took a sip of the tea. It was faintly sweet and herbal, but not in an unpleasant way. "How is Nerteth these days?"

"She's fine." April laughed, "I think she's preparing to rise soon. She's been so distracted these last few days while doing our rounds through the dragonhealer ward, and her hide is starting to glow a bit. Not too much longer now."

S'am smiled, and then knuckled down the courage to ask the question that had flared up in her brain. "So, uh, what's it like?"

"What's what like?" April raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Flights." The last word practically came out a breathy squeak.

"Flying is wonderful! It feels so free," at S'am's look of consternation, April laughed, "Oh, you don't mean those flights, you mean mating flights… Ah. Well, they're wonderful too. You and your dragonare one, closer than you've ever been before, and you both fly around, trying to outsmart and outfly the boys. And getting caught is just as fun too!"

S'am nodded, wondering what that would be like, and then wondering what normal flight would be like. It was hard to imagine that the awkward but forceful creature that had knocked her to the ground would grow up to be a graceful dragon, flying through the skies of Pern normally, let alone imagining the power of a mating flight. S'am had lived in the Weyr long enough to get caught up in the flaring passion of more than a few flights herself, from the ground, and wondered how much more intense the real thing would be. She smiled, and decided that that whole experience could definitely wait. She stifled a yawn behind her hand.

"But flying in general is lots of fun too. And Threadfall is scary, but is a glorious sight in its own way, with the wings all flying above you, their hides flashing all the colors that dragons come in. Let me tell you about this one time…"

S'am felt her eyes droop, and placed her now-empty mug on the table next to her. She was warm, and content, and briefly reached out to touch the second half of herself, sleeping happily in her stone bed in the weyrling barracks. There was music playing, and the hall smelled wonderful. Her eyes slid closed as she smiled peacefully.

April looked over and grinned. _Mission accomplished._ She felt Nerteth's "smile" through their link, and flagged down C'sey to assist with getting S'am back to her bed in the barracks.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

S'am awoke, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes with one hand, while the other covered her mouth while she yawned. She stretched, and then gave a start. She was in bed, wearing her nightshirt. The last thing she remembered was being at a party, there was no recollection of getting into her pajamas and bed.

_Was it all just a dream then?_ Her eyes misted slightly, and her hand dropped down over the side of her bed, dangling down. She didn't have the energy to face another day without that magical connection to another she had felt last night, that feeling of perfect wholeness.

Something covered in the smoothest suede bumped into her dangling hand, and a voice spoke loud and clear in her mind. _No dream, but I am very, very, very, very, very, very hungry. Can we go get food now?_ A high-pitched creel sounded from right next to her face. Opening her eyes and turning her head slightly, S'am smiled, meeting the whirling gaze of Piranth, who was balancing her forepaws on the edge of the bed now.

S'am sat up with a whoop of joy. "Keep that noise down!" A voice growled from the shadowed depths of the weyrling barracks. "Some of us are still trying to sleep!"

A pillow missed S'am's head by a mere foot, and she grinned wider. "You are so beautiful. Let's go get you some food. Just let me get dressed first." S'am threw a hurried hug around Piranth's neck, and then climbed out of bed, pulling her nightshirt over her neck. She stuffed it into the drawer underneath the bed, and briefly touched the soft fabric of her new dress before pulling out a pair of short trews and a tunic.

She padded out of the barracks barefoot, with Piranth walking beside her. Piranth's stubby little wings flapped happily, and her head was carried high as she practically bounced out the exit to the weyrbowl, heading straight for the buckets of chopped herdbeast waiting for the dragonets.

There was little light in the weyrbowl, as it was just dawn, but S'am could see the figure of another new dragonpair already eating. As they approached, she recognized C'sey, standing next to a dragonet who was slightly larger than Piranth. Piranth promptly stuck her head into a bucket, and started munching away.

"Good morning." S'am said shyly, watching Piranth tear through her food. "So, that's Nath?"

"Yep." C'sey smiled for a second, and then he looked uncomfortable. "Sorry about ditching you last night like that. It was really beastly of me. And then when I got back, you had just nodded off, so I couldn't apologize last night. April had me get you to the room, and then her and Rheannon changed you into your nightclothes." He kicked around in the dirt around the weyrbowl, his eyes fixed on the ground under his feet.

S'am shrugged, trying to appear cool about it. "Don't worry about it. She's a future Weyrwoman and queenrider."

"That doesn't mean when she says 'firelizard' I need to hop _between_." He thought for a second. "But I see your point. Are we okay, then?" He offered her a sheepish grin.

S'am snorted. "Of course! Don't be such a dimglow! It'll take more than that to change our friendship!" And she hugged C'sey briefly, hoping that they could remain friends.

_My belly feels better, but now I itch!_ Piranth looked up from her bucket, her muzzle slightly bloody, and her eyes whirling with worry again.

"Where do you itch love?" S'am hunkered down, scratching just under Piranth's chin.

_Everywhere!_

S'am laughed.

"Nath says he itches everywhere, so I guess it's off to the lake for a scrub for us. How fares little Piranth?"

"The same, so we'll come with you." S'am straightened up, and grabbed a nearby bucket of scrubbing sand with two soft brushes. "With all of this stuff right next to the door to the barracks, you'd think that L'ary knows the needs of newly hatched dragonets."

C'sey laughed. "Well, this isn't his first Hatching, so I guess he figures it's best to be prepared." He grabbed up a bucket of oil with two rags, and the two dragonpairs headed for the lake, dragonets bouncing in excitement.


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

It was harder than S'am first realized to get the excited dragonets to settle down for a good scrubbing. Although they complained about itching hide, they would rather splash each other, and their riders, in the cool waters of the Weyr lake. C'sey and S'am both laughed and joined into the games, until the sound of a throat being cleared came from the shore.

S'am turned around, and lifted an eyebrow in surprise. Jordann stood there, with his little blue dragon beside, the dragonet's eyes whirling a worried orange color.

"Hello Weyrling Seriam. I, uh, I… Well, I wanted to talk to you, and Weyrling Caesey." Jordann shifted his feet nervously, shifting back and forth on the shore of the lake.

"It's Weyrling S'am now, and C'sey." S'am was hesitant to say anything, since Jordann had been one of those people who could turn anything she said around on her, and then she'd end up being the butt of some stupid joke that he and his cronies would laugh about for candlemarks.

Jordann sighed softly. "I'm J'dann now. And this is Porianth. And… Oh shells! This isn't easy for me. I know I've been a terrible tail-fork these last several sevendays. When I first got here, I was so certain that I would Impress the first dragon, and that it would be a huge bronze, and I would be a hero that stories would be written about, like F'lar and Mnementh or something. And then Porianth came walking up to me, and I almost turned him away because he was a blue…" At this, the boy dropped to his knees and threw his arms around the neck of the now-crooning dragon, whispering words of love. After a few minutes he looked up, his eyes misty. "Anyways, I realized that Porianth was the first being that ever really saw me, not what I could become or who I ought to be, and so I've realized that I've been a horrid person, and I wanted to apologize." At that, J'dann stood, dusting off his knees, and extended a hand towards S'am. "Weyrling S'am, I would like to apologize for anything I said or did during candidate training that was conduct unbecoming of a dragonrider, and I hope from now on we can move forward as Weyrlings together."

S'am stood in the water, slack jawed. Never had she imagined that this conversation would happen, and yet, here they all were. She saw, in the background, Rheannon and Myranth with J'on and Fasath approaching. She took a few steps forward, her right hand clenching. For all of the times that this arrogant swine had pushed her around, or mocked her, she wanted to punch him in the nose. And then she looked down at Piranth.

The complete love and trust shining in those blue-green eyes hurt to look at. She understood what J'dann had meant when he said that Porianth had been the first to truly see him. S'am sighed.

"Weyrling J'dann, I accept your apology, and from this day forth may we move forward as Weyrlings." She clasped his forearm, in the style of dragonmen, and they shook on it. J'dann then repeated the process with C'sey, and even included Rheannon and J'on. After all was forgiven, all five of the dragonets romped in the waters together. All of the new Weyrlings helped each other calm down each of the dragonets enough to scrub them clean, and then let them jump around until they were exhausted and drooping.

The group moved off to the buckets of oil, and everyone picked up a rag and saw to their dragons. With most of their energy spent, the dragonets were much more cooperative, and many contented sighs could be heard as the last of their itches were soothed away. S'am looked up as she finished with Piranth's tail end, and noticed that almost all of the Weyrlings were up and about now, either feeding, bathing, oiling, or playing with their new friends.

"Weyrlings, Werylingmaster L'ary has asked me to show you where to have your dragonets nap, and wants me to direct you to your spot for lecture today." A young man strode up, gesturing towards a spot where the sun was just starting to warm the sand. "Right this way, dragons and Weyrlings."

_Mmmm, the sun feels good on my wings._

S'am smiled at Piranth's sleepy thoughts, and helped her walk the rest of the way to the sunny spot. "Well then, love, just rest here. I won't go far, and when you wake we can play more." She heard murmurs coming from the other Weyrlings, everyone soothing, complimenting, and encouraging their dragons to come to the sunny spot and rest for a while before playing again.

_Sounds nice. _And without another peep, Piranth settled down to sleep, her lustrous, dark green hide hide glowing in the sunlight from her recent oiling, contented with life.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

"Good to see you all assembled, Weyrlings," L'ary's voice brought the drifting S'am back to attention. "We will meet for lecture every day for the next sevenday here. In this time we will be covering the basic needs of your dragonets, and how to tell when they are ailing. Congratulations on impressing all of you, it may seem like what you did was easy, but let me tell you, many more fail at this than succeed. So, welcome to Weyrling training." L'ary beamed with a certain stern pride, striding back and forth in front of the seated Weyrlings, arms behind his back and chest puffed slightly out.

"Your first lecture will not have me saying much at all. Look around you, the people sitting around you are now your brothers and sisters. You are all dragonriders. And as such, you must all learn to trust each other and work as a team. To that end, for this morning you will all divide into groups according to the color dragons you will ride, and will get to know each other within those groups. Once we're done there, you will all introduce yourselves to the group and give a much more brief telling of what brought you here. Greens over here," S'am stood, and moved towards the indicated spot, "blues over here, browns over there, bronzes here, and Shihanna, if you could come over here and stand with me." Everyone else was up and moving, heading for their group.

S'am looked around at the other Weyrlings assembled in the area for green riders. They were mostly girls, with one boy. Rheannon stood next to S'am, and they shared a nervous smile.

"Well, I guess I can start this party." The boy said, speaking up quickly. He had light blonde hair and a tanned face, bright blue-grey eyes laughing lightly at the world around him. He smiled easily. "My name is R'ver, and I'm the rider of green Adelth. She's the bright green one, just there." Everyone looked, and oohed appreciatively, even though everyone had their own personal opinions on which one was the prettiest dragonet. "Anyways, I'm originally from Half-Circle Sea Hold, and was working on getting sent to the Tailor Crafthall, when I was Searched. And now, here I am!" He grinned, throwing his arms open, and laughing lightly. "I must say, I am really excited about how things turned out. Anyways, who's next?" And he looked pointedly at the skinny blonde girl standing next to him.

"Well, I guess that would be me… I'm, uhm… I'm Crystal, rider of green Wicenth. She's the pale green one. Anyways, I'm from the Master Beasthall. I was an apprentice there when I was searched." She looked down at her scarred arms, and sighed. "I'm sure you're all wondering where I got these. Well, the Beasthall was working on domesticating some of the wild Southern felines several sevendays ago. I was given a young female, all silvery-white with grayish stripes. Everything was going fine with her, when one morning she attacked me, scratching up my arms like this. It happened to coincide with several other feline attacks, and a large group escaped out into the forest. That project has been called off now, due to a couple of deaths, so I really count myself lucky that my arms were all that really got scratched up." She looked up and around, and smiled shyly. "And I guess that's all there is to know about me."

"Did they ever find her?" R'ver was breathless, eager to know the whole story."

"No. They found some of the others, but my Shanyin and several others were never found. There never was any news of any other attacks, though, so I think the search was mostly called off. At least, that was the last I knew about it before I came here."

"You know, I know someone who designs make-up for some of the Harpers. It think, if he watered it down some, we oculd use it on your arms if you ever wanted to cover up those scars." R'ver pursed his lips, looking up and down her arms, deep in thought.

"No, thank you. These scars are part of who I am, and I've gotten used to them. I can't really say that I like them, but they tell an important story and it seems like it would be kind of wrong to cover them up. But thanks, just the same." She touched his arm lightly, smiling.

"Oh, no problem." R'ver waved his other hand, and then covered up Crystal's hand with his free one. "I'm sure Stanev and I will be friends for many more turns, so if you ever change your mind just let me know."

"Thank you. Anyways, I guess it's your turn." Crystal turned to the girl standing next to her, a medium-height brunette.

All S'am could think when she looked at this girl was "brown." She had brown hair, brown eyes, and a medium complexion. All in all, not terribly interesting. But when the girl spoke, her voice was smooth as silk, and deep in a beautifully feminine way.

"My name is Miandora, and I am rider of green Tarianth. I come from Nerat Hold, and like most of you was Serched and brought here. I am pleased to be here, and to have my Tarianth with me now. I'm a little nervous about flying in Thread, but the training here is intense, so I think I'll be able to deal with my fears before we actually have to fly. There really isn't anything else interesting to know about me." And the girl gave a one-shoulder shrug, her eyes moving back to look at her dragonet.

"I'm pretty sure most of us are a bit nervous about that, dear." R'ver spoke up again, and S'am couldn't help smiling a little. If he kept helping out the other Weyrlings, he would end up on L'ary's short list of "volunteers" to be Werylingmaster's Assistant. _Then again_, she thought, _maybe that's where he belongs. Maybe that's where he wants to be._

The next girl down the line smiled and spoke up. She also had brunette hair, but was much more fair, with a sprinkling of freckles across her nose. "I'm Illitra, rider of green Triseth. I was Shihanna's handmaiden, and only ended up standing near some of the candidates by accident, and then Triseth came to me, making a most pitiful noise. I think it upset some of the other candidate's, but the dragon decides, don't they? And I couldn't say no to her, when she was crying like that! So, here I am!" The girl spoke quickly, and finished almost breathless. She grinned, and then looked over at Shihanna, her grin drooping slightly. "I don't know how she feels about it, but I do know I'm far too busy to resume my former duties."

"No one is going to expect you to be a handmaiden and a Weyrling too, Illitra." Rheannon said kindly. "S'am isn't worried about picking up her duties around the Weyr, are you S'am?"

S'am grimaced slightly, having been put on the spot. She did notice Rheannon's mischievous grin, and couldn't resist shaking her head and grinning back. "Well, I'm S'am, rider of green Piranth. She's the dark green one to the right of Rheannon's Myranth, who looks like her twin. Anyways, I was born here, and my mother is Headwoman, so I'm used to getting my hands dirty. I'm also pretty knowledgeable about Ista Weyr, where stuff is and how life goes around here, and that kind of stuff. So if you have any questions, I'll help you out. And Shihanna's not going to have a handmaiden anymore. At least, I've never heard of any queenriders around here being pampered like that, so I'd be surprised if anything like that happened with her." S'am turned back and studied Shihanna for a brief moment, noticing how all of the other Weyrlings had peers, but she stood alone. S'am felt a brief rush of gratitude towards Piranth for knocking her over. She wasn't meant for that kind of life, she knew that for certain now. _But if that queen had crooked her foreclaw, you would've come running._ She also knew C'sey's words were true.

Deep in thought, she had missed Rheannon's introduction, and barely caught the tail-end of the last girl, whose name was Afiri, rider of green Agieth. Afiri's skin was dark as coal, her hair woolly like a sheep and close-cropped around her head. She was beautiful, with deepest-brown eyes and wide lips that smiled easily. S'am smiled then. _Everyone smiles easily today._ Her eyes scanned the crowd again…

And locked on J'rome. He was in the bronze group, and had been surveying the other color groups with a sneer. When his eyes met hers, S'am failed to repress a shudder. There was something cold, and horrible in his eyes, something that she didn't quite understand. She turned back to her group, shaking off the feeling of foreboding. With any luck, he would get shipped off to one of the other Weyrs, or something.

The green group stood chatting amiably for a few minutes, R'ver commenting on how he had seen S'am speaking to J'dann at the lake. S'am told them all the story of that morning, and mentioned that she thought that J'dann was trying to turn over a new leaf.

"Okay, Weyrlings, time to assemble." L'ary's voice cut across the crowd, just as five grown dragons landed in the bowl, not far from the entrance to the Weyrling barracks. They all deposited what looked like herdbeast carcasses, and lifted off again, smooth as silk. "No doubt you just saw the dropoff there. If you think that I'm going to cut up the meat for your dragonets from now until they can hunt, you're wrong. You all need to care for your dragonets, and one of their prime needs is food. So, put yourselves into groups of four. Butcher the carcasses, and fill the buckets to the _bottom _line with meat. I will tell you when to fill up the buckets further. For now, the bottom line will suffice. Do not overfeed your dragon. I don't care how much they whine, they don't need…"

L'ary's voice faded as S'am turned and looked at little Piranth, dozing in the sun. When would she be big enough to fly? It seemed impossibly far away, but she smiled, knowing the day would come. Someday.

She started when Rheannon touched her arm. "Time to go cut up some herdbeast. We're to complete that task, and then get some breakfast, and you're to head on down to the Healer's ward so they can look at your legs. And then, we're to meet up at the Candidate class form a 'special surprise' he said."

S'am shrugged, and joined her friends around a herdbeast as they started in on the grisly work.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

"So, does anyone know what L'ary's talking about when he mentioned our little 'surprise'?" J'on asked as the group headed to the coldroom to drop off their filled buckets.

"I think so." C'sey said, slanting a look at S'am, who shrugged her shoulders. "I think he's talking about getting our hair cut. I know that right after each previous Hatching, the new Weyrlings were taken aside and all had their hair shorn."

"Oh yeah! Remember the way that one girl cried and cried." S'am giggled a bit as she put down her bucket, and then toyed with the end of her braid. "Although, it's gonna feel really strange having short hair."

"What? You can't say you're gonna miss it, not after that stunt you pulled when you were little!" C'sey laughed, and S'am joined in. After a few heartbeats, she realized that the others were standing with confused looks on their faces, so she filled them in.

"When I was about seven or eight turns old, I wanted my mother to cut my hair. She told me a lady never cuts her hair, and refused. So, when she had turned around, I took up her shears and cut off my braid. I think I threw it at her, and shouted something, I don't really remember…"

"Her mother said it was, 'Well then I'm not a lady!'" C'sey was still laughing. The others joined in, chuckling until they got down to the dining hall, where they grabbed a quick breakfast of sweet rolls, fruit, and mugs of klah. They all tucked in, and halfway through her breakfast S'am felt arms hugging her from behind.

"I don't have much time, Ser, I just escaped from lessons, but I wanted to congratulate you on your new dragon! I saw the whole thing, and she looks wonderful, and I can't wait, and ooops, here they come, gotta go." Just like that, the arms were gone, and S'am turned to see Rickley darting out through the kitchens just as Eidnah, the matronly caretaker of the weyrbrats, poked her head in the main entrance to the dining cavern. When Eidnah looked at S'am, S'am shrugged, trying to repress a giggle and failing. Eidnah shook her head, her iron-grey bun bobbing back and forth, and headed back out to the hallways.

As they cleaned up their trays, and returned their mugs to the dish pile, Rheannon reminded S'am to go to the Healer's ward before heading in for lessons.

"Oh, right, thanks for looking out for me!" S'am threw a quick hug around the taller girl's waist, and headed back alone.

Oryion was not on duty today, so a young woman that S'am didn't know saw to her bandages. She asked S'am the normal questions about pain, and declared her fit for whatever activities the Weyrlingmaster had in charge for them. Thanking her, S'am left the Healer's area, glad that nothing had gone awry there.

Back at the candidate classrooms, the Weyrling class was just getting gathered. She went in and sat down, noticing the chair and a young man sitting next to it. As the last of the Weyrlings got settled, L'ary spoke.

"Now, on to my little surprise. You may have noticed the prevailing hair fashion around in the Weyr," C'sey took this moment to nudge S'am in the ribs with his elbow, "is to wear one's hair really short, men and women. This is to make it easier to get your helmet on and off, and to prevent any potential accidents. So, in a time-honored tradition, today you all are going to where the same style." There was a chorus of groans as the other Weyrlings caught on. "Once you are full dragonriders, you may wear your hair however you wish. But for the next two turns, while you are under my tutelage, you will keep it short. We will meet here, four times a turn, to see that your hair does not grow long. Now, I see that some of you already have short hair. If I tap you on the shoulder, you may go sit at the back of the room and wait for your fellows. After this, we'll all introduce ourselves." More groans. "Thought I'd forgotten about that, didn't you? Well, here's your chance to let your knew Weyrling Wingmates know who they will be living and flying with."

"Excuse me, sir?" Shihanna raised a hand, "I was wondering, I am a queenrider, and I know they fly really low in formation, so do I also have to cut my hair?"

"Of course. You are one of the Weyrlings. When you move on to Junior Weyrwoman training, after your first turn of standard Weyrling training, they'll tell you whether or not you can grow your hair long. Either way, the decision is not yours to make until you get your full dragonrider's knots. Any more questions?" A chorus of dreary "No's" met that. "Good. Let's begin with Shihanna."

To her credit, beyond her question the knew Junior Weyrwoman didn't flinch from the barber, she just went up there and sat impassively as her long, ebony locks fell to the floor. No blubbering, no carrying on, just sat there regal as a queen. The excused Weyrlings stood in a group, talking in hushed voices as the rest of the Weyrlings had their longer hair clipped short.

Rheannon looked cute, with her now-short light red hair framing her face. C'sey looked strange, as did J'on. They both looked kind of naked without their thicker shoulder-length hair.

When S'am was done, she stepped down and gingerly reached a hand up to scrub at the back of her neck, which suddenly felt awfully exposed. "Doesn't look terrible, dear," said the man with the clipping shears, "Looks like you might even have a little bit of curl in there. Next!"

She shook her head as she headed for the other clipped Weyrlings, missing the familiar swish of her hair. She ran a hand through her short hair again, still trying to get used to it. C'sey teased her, as was his wont, chuckling at how she kept fussing with it.

Finally the rest of the class was done. Greenrider Illitra did cry a little, but other than that it went pretty uneventfully. Finally, L'ary addressed them, telling them to stand and tell the whole class their name and their dragon's name and color.

S'am drifted off again into her own thoughts, probing at the warm, sleep-fuzzy presence at the back of her mind in wonder. She still couldn't quite get used to it. The small bundle of thought was asleep, but still radiated waves of contentment and happiness. The feeling made S'am smile.

J'on poked her in the ribs when it was her turn, and she stood, stating in a loud and clear voice that she was S'am, rider of green Piranth. L'ary wrote it down, and continued on.

When that was done, L'ary told the class that that information was for the roster for the upcoming ceremony, where the Weyrlings would be introduced to the entire Weyr and would receive their Weyrling shoulder knots.

S'am felt the presence drifting more towards wakefulness, and looked towards L'ary.

"But now, your dragons are probably waking again. Be sure to grab a bucket of meat from the cold storage, and go tend to them. Remember, this first sevenday is all about caring for your dragonet and strengthening your bond, but after this the real work begins. Go."

The entire class went, off to revel in the warm glow of love that each received from their new lifemates.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

_You look different._

S'am smiled at Piranth's declaration, running a hand through her boy-short hair again, trying to get used to the feel of her new haircut. "They cut my hair."

_Why? _The dragonet twisted her head around on her slender neck, staring at S'am with gently whirling eyes while S'am finished up oiling her hindquarters.

"To help with firestone training. Apparently the chance of accidents goes up when Weyrlings are allowed to wear their hair long."

The dragonet made a mental sound that most closely resembled a snort, and turned her head back around, regarding the other dragonets curiously. _I'm really, really hungry today._

"You just ate!"

_Well, I am still hungry. _

"Give it a few minutes, and then we'll see about your stomach. Do you ant to go romp around with your clutch-mates?"

_I suppose. Although I'm so hungry that I don't know how much fun it will be._ The last came across almost as a pout, and Piranth sulked off towards the Weyrbowl. Her hurt feelings were quickly forgotten as Myranth pounced on her tail, and the two identical dragonets chased each other around in a circle. The wrestling match was soon joined by a dark brown, and a light blue dragonet. The two boys came over to join Rheannon and S'am, and introductions were made. C'tien was the rider of blue Tueth, and L'cat was the rider of brown Chavenarth. The Weyrlings all laughed at the little dragonet's antics, and the other dragonets, either getting oiled or bathed or fed, watched with jewel-toned eyes. All of the baby dragons glowed with good health, and all of the eyes were green, blue, or some shade in-between, indicating good mood.

Others quickly joined in, all of the various shades, and S'am was suddenly struck by how different all of the colors were. There weren't any "just" green, blue, brown, or bronze hides, not when they were all so close together. The dragonet's proximity to each other really brought out how Nath was a slightly darker bronze than Fasath, and Chavenarth was the color of dark chocolate, whereas Bartelth, ridden by blonde E'so, was the light color of sand. They were all different, and all beautiful.

"You were _between_ again, S'am." J'on laughed. "I could've goosed you before you knew I was there."

S'am snorted, and then laughed, reminded of Piranth's response to S'am's explanation for her new haircut. "I guess I'm still a bit starry-eyed about the whole Impression thing. I hope it wears off soon."

L'cat nodded. "It's like when you were a kid, and you lost your first tooth. You keep thinking that you're used to it, but then it creeps back up on you and before you know it you're sticking your tongue in the spot where your tooth used to be." He shook his head, and then ran his hand through his hair, grimacing. "Or maybe it's like getting your hair cut."

"I think both analogies work pretty well. Only instead of losing something, we've gained something."

"Only some of us have gained more than others. I figured you to be one of the smarter ones, L'cat." J'rome walked up, a scowl on his face, his eyes locked on the taller brown rider. "If you would care to join us, we're over by the lake." And with that, the young man stalked off, his short, dark hair standing up in spikes, his dark eyes never once even looking in S'am's direction.

L'cat shrugged, and then went off to join the other bronze and brown riders. J'on stayed where he was, sighing softly.

"He's going to be a problem, isn't he?" S'am said softly. "Why a bronze chose someone like him, I'll never know."

"It's pretty obvious when you stop and think about it, really." J'on said softly. "He's a leader. Look at how they flock around him, trying to win his approval, and our dragonets are barely a full day old. I'm sure he'll be a natural in the air. The bigger surprise is why a bronze chose _me._"

She could see J'on's point about the darker boy, but she still said, "I think that dragonet just left his good sense in his shell when he hatched. I guess we should name him Stupideth, or something." She smirked, but J'on didn't even crack half a smile.

"His dragonet's name is Buth. And look, see how all of their dragonets are no longer playing with ours?" He was right, there were now two groups of playful dragonets, where before there was only one. The other group consisted mostly of browns and bronzes, where the other group was mostly greens and blues. The gold dragonet looked from one group to the other. The bronze that J'on had pointed out as Buth waddled up to Wierenath, and bowed his head, but she just turned around and marched up to her rider, who was watching the proceedings with one eyebrow raised. With that, they both turned to the lake and walked off alone. S'am shook her head.

_Chavenarth says that his rider doesn't want him playing with me right now. Why?_ Piranth flounced up to S'am then, her eyes turning faintly orange with worry.

"His rider doesn't want to play with lesser dragons, love." S'am knelt, too upset to find a better way to phrase what had just happened, and instead focused on rubbing the sides of Piranth's muzzle, just the way she liked.

_That's dumb. I'm not less than Chavenarth is, we're both dragons. And I'll bet we'll outfly any of those big, dumb bronzes when we get airborne._ Piranth reared back, flapping her wings. _I want to fly now!_

S'am laughed, shaking her head. "Not for a while now, love. You still have a lot of growing to do before you can fly."

_Well, be that as it may, I'm really, really hungry now from all of that playing._ Piranth dropped back to all fours, and looked at S'am, creeling slightly.

"Okay, I told you we'd see about getting you more food after you played, and you played some." They both headed back to the barracks, leaving J'on standing with Fasath. She waved at him as they headed towards the buckets of meat. He waved back, looking slightly worried. S'am shrugged one shoulder, figuring that the situation with the bronze and brown dragonets would be sorted out in time.

When she got to the cold meat locker, she pulled down one of the buckets of meat. Piranth put her head in, and then pulled it back out right away. _This isn't enough._

"L'ary said we must only feed you what is in the bucket to the first line. Any more will make you ill."

_I'm pretty sure I know my own stomach better than whoever-he-is does. This isn't enough._ And Piranth sat down on her haunches, regarding S'am coolly.

S'am sighed. She had at least heard that part of the lecture, but the little green did have a point. When Piranth started to creel softly, her eyes orange through-and-through, S'am gave in. "Just keep quiet while I grab a few more handfuls, otherwise we're both in for it."

She pulled out extra handfuls from each of the buckets, spreading it around so that the other Weyrlings, and their hungry dragonets, would be less likely to notice. When she came back and dumped it all into the bucket, Piranth stuck her head back in and started gulping down her food. S'am shook her head, a vague uneasiness starting to grow in her own stomach.

She shifted her shoulder uneasily. It felt like there were eyes in the walls of the hall, watching her and reporting her misdeed to Weyrlingmaster L'ary. Every second she expected him to come thundering around the corner, reprimanding her. When Piranth was done, she gave a sigh of relief, and put the now-empty bucket with all of the other empties.

"Okay. Nap time for you, missy." S'am led Piranth down to the Weyrling barracks, and settled her in for sleep. Piranth didn't complain, just burped once and then settled down with a sigh.

Relieved that, so far, L'ary had failed to turn up, she went outside to join the others, leaving Piranth behind to doze through the rest of the day.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

S'am walked over, joining her friends as they finished bathing and oiling their dragonets. C'sey had joined the group, and everyone was discussing the new rift in the Weyrling class.

"This isn't good for morale. Surely he sees that." C'sey said, his tone indicating that this was a point he had made before.

J'on shook his head. "I don't think he cares about morale. All he cares about are his ideals, and his blind enough to the real world that it won't matter that this whole episode might set the class as a whole back. I bet he'll perform well and will be completely unconcerned as to how anyone else does, even those in his inner circle."

"But what kind of leader does that make him?" C'tien asked, bewildered, his white-blonde hair standing up on his head in soft spikes that reminded S'am of dandelion fluff.

"A bad one," C'sey said, with a voice as hard as his eyes, "I don't care what color dragon he rides or how well he does. A leader that doesn't think of the other people with him is no leader at all."

S'am touched his shoulder lightly. "That's why I'll never worry about following you into Threadfall. Don't worry about it, I'm sure L'ary has it all under control."

C'sey nodded sharply, and J'on stood there looking troubled. Rheannon hadn't spoken a word, just watched Myranth playing with a thoughtful expression on her face. When she spoke, it seemed like even the dragonets quieted down to listen.

"Maybe this is part of a test as Weyrlings. How we deal with each other. I don't think L'ary's gonna step in and save us, unless J'rome does something to actually endanger another Weyrling. So I think, sometime soon, we're going to have to figure out what we're going to do with him." Then she glanced around, smiling slightly. "I don't think that day is today, however, and I know I'm feeling hungry. How about the rest of you?"

There was a chorus of assents at that, and everyone worked on rounding up the drooping dragonets. R'ver and Illitra joined their motley group, and the crowd of them marched off to the dining caverns.

On the way, they heard a voice near the Weyrlingmaster's quarters.

"I don't care where he is! I need transport away from this Weyr now!" The voice was high-pitched and near hysterical with pain, and S'am glanced around the corner, seeing one of the unsuccessful girls from candidate class standing at the door to Weyrlingmaster L'ary's quarters, shouting at a drudge. The drudge, used to the ways of distraught failed candidates, shrugged her shoulders and moved away, carrying a basket of laundry, saying, "Then I'm sorry, miss, you'll have to wait until he gets back. And no, I don't know when that will be."

R'ver sighed, muttered that he'd catch up, and then rushed over to comfort the girl, who had begun to cry. "There, there, what's the matter? You don't want to stay in the Weyr and the bronzer that brought you here isn't interested in you anymore? Not to fret, I'll have you situated with some transport in no time! Unless there's some way I can convince you to stay…" His tenor voice drifted off down the hall as he led the girl away from the gawking group and towards the Weyrbowl, his hands on her shoulders.

S'am shook her head. "I'd bet ten marks that he's going to be the next Weyrlingmaster, after L'ary retires from the position."

C'sey laughed. "I'd take you on that, but I don't have ten marks on me, and I know you don't either."

"We'll have ten marks by the time the change happens." S'am smiled.

"Fine, you're on!"

"Assuming you two can remember the bet when the time comes…" J'on said, a twinkle in his eyes.

"Well, we have you here as a witness, so there!" S'am said triumphantly, sure of her victory.

Rheannon, Illitra, and C'tien just laughed, and the small mob got moving again towards the dining cavern. Once there, all were served with a delicious meal of roasted wherry and greens, with mashed tubers in butter. S'am noticed as she sat down that her stomach was still a little bit upset, so she took the meal slowly and hoped that it was just hunger knotting up her insides. After all, there was nothing to be afraid of. J'rome was just a bully, and would get his in the end.

The talk around the table was about J'rome, with illitra giving the group all of the details of j'rome's and J'dann's childhoods. The fact that J'rome was J'dann's milk-brother was discussed. Illitra told them about how J'dann's mother had been too sick to nurse him herself, so they had to find a substitute. J'dann's mother had gotten better, but had died in childbirth a turn later. J'dann and J'rome had been thick as thieves back then, and many folk from Keroon had said that it was J'rome's influence that had turned J'dann, but as far back as Illitra could remember the two had always been a pair of bad eggs. And Shihanna was only a little bit better, being J'dann's cousin who had been fostered at Keroon. She had stayed away from the rougher boys, but had been doted on by Gregg so much that she had quickly become spoiled and willful. All hoped that her Impression would improve her attitude.

S'am was just finishing up her crusty butter roll when J'dann himself came into the dining cavern. The talk around the table died, and she watched as he grabbed his food, and then headed over to the table where J'rome and his cronies sat. J'rome wouldn't even look at him, and all of the others scooted down the benches away from him when he sat. S'am watched as he ate a few bites in silence, and then stood up, looking for a new place to sit. S'am waved him over, despite Illitra's soft cursing.

"Thank you." J'dann said simply as he joined the new group. Talk resumed. The new Weyrlings talked about their dragonets, a subject that it seemed no one had tired of yet, and what they thought all of the new duties would be, and where they all hoped to get weyrs once they had graduated. J'dann joined in the conversation after a few minutes, and talk bubbled up happily around the small group.

Another small bunch of brown and blue weyrlings came in shortly afterwards, and S'am, Rheannon, C'sey and J'on headed out, since they were all done with their meals. Their seats were filled before they had left the dining hall, and they all laughed about that. The group headed back to the barracks, figuring they'd make an early night of it so they could be fresh for the next day with their dragonets.

As S'am settled down to sleep, she noticed that her stomach was still upset. She sighed, closed her eyes, and drifted off.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

_S'am, it hurts! It burns! Ohh, I can't hold it in anymore! S'am!_

The panicked voice in her head caused S'am to sit up with a curse. She was pulling herself straight, when suddenly a warm, wet mass fell into her lap.

"Piranth? What happened? I… Ugh!" The that hit her nose was awful, half-digested meat with acidic overtones. The weight of the vomit pressed down on her legs, and S'am felt her own gorge rising.

"S'am! Gather up the corners of the blanket! Don't let it touch the mattress!" Hands appeared at the edge of the bed, gathering up her blanket and trapping the foul semi-liquid inside, as S'am just stared on in horror. The blanket was picked up and carried outside of the Weyrling barracks.

_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, but I couldn't hold it in anymore, and it just came out everywhere._ The voice was miserable, and S'am looked at Piranth, who was crouching near the side of her bed. The dragonet's wings, tail, and head all drooped, and when Piranth finally glanced up S'am could see that her eyes were orange-grey. _I'm sorry._

S'am dropped off of the bed, putting her arms around the neck of her trembling dragon. "It's okay, I shouldn't have let you eat so much. I'm the one who should be apologizing. I'm supposed to look after you, and it seems like all I do is bungle it…"

A light touch on her shoulder stopped her monologue. Rheannon stood there, S'am's sodden sleeping blanket in her hands. "We should get Piranth to the dragon healer's cavern so she can be looked at." Rheannon's voice prompted S'am to action, and the short girl stood, leaving one hand on the knobby head of her lifemate.

"Right-o. Let's go then, shall we? We'll just drop off the blanket on the way." S'am guided Piranth out the door, the dragonet dragging along without any of her characteristic bounce.

Once out in the hallway, S'am took the blanket from Rheannon. It didn't take much looking to realize that the blanket was ruined beyond repair. "Well, I guess I'll be dropping this off in the waste heap instead of with the cleaners." S'am managed a faint smile. "Thanks for making me get up, Rheannon. I probably would've just stared at the mess for a candlemark while it got cold on my lap!"

Rheannon laughed weakly. "Myranth is still sleeping, so I can come with you to the healer's if you want."

"Sounds great to me." S'am set off down the nearly-empty corridor, Piranth following placidly behind. "Say, Piranth, can you bespeak Dorianth and let him know what happened?"

There was a brief pause. _Wierenath already did. Dorianth's rider is on his way, but Dorianth says that he will just meet us at the healer's cavern in a few minutes._ The dragonet's voice was subdued, but her eyes looked less grey now.

"How does your stomach feel, love?"

_Better. _

"That's good."

Rheannon watched the exchange in silence, speaking only once she noticed that the two were done. "So, how long until we can speak silently to our dragonets, do you think?"

S'am shrugged. "I don't know. For all that I've lived here my whole life, we usually got chased away from the Weyrlings so as not to distract them from their training, so I really don't know how long the more subtle things take. I do know that it's about one full score and then a few extra sevendays until they'll be big enough to fly, and then a few more sevendays after that until they can fly us around. We have a full Turn as Weyrlings until we can participate in Fall, and even then it's only going to be running firestone out to the fighting wings. But beyond that, I really don't know…"

"Hm. Okay. Although, the bit about them not letting us get distracted seems like it's a losing proposition. Just being Impressed is a big enough distraction!" Rheannon smiled a bit, getting the glassy-eyed look that came over anyone's face when they were checking in on their dragonets. S'am smiled too, and reached out to rub Piranth's knobby green head. Piranth closed her eyes a little, leaning into the caress, and then tripped as her hind leg stepped on the trailing edge of her right wing, and her forepaws got all tangled on themselves. The small, dark green dragonet tumbled down in a heap, making a squeaking sound as she fell.

S'am stopped, and helped Piranth get untangled and back on her feet, throwing a quick hug around her neck. "We're almost there love, and then we'll get you checked out. It'll be okay, you'll see."

_But what if we get into trouble? _

"We'll worry about that when L'ary gets here. Until then, let's get you looked at."

Piranth perked up a bit, responding to S'am's confidence. Sehs till didn't bounce, but her head and wings were held a bit higher as they walked into the dragon healer's cavern.

A young man, who looked vaguely familiar, with dark brown hair and a splash of freckles across his nose, rushed out to greet them, asked them what was wrong, and then listened gravely as S'am explained what had happened. "Over-feeding is a problem. It's just as well that your Piranth vomited up the food, because believe me, diarrhea is much worse. Let's get her over to a bench here, and we'll just take a look at her."

Piranth looked up at S'am, her eyes starting to change from orange to a paler yellow. _I'm hungry again. When can I eat?_

S'am relayed the question, and the medic laughed. "Let's see if she can hold down some water first. Then we'll check in on her in a candlemark and see how she's doing. I trust you'll only eat what you're given, young lady, and not ask for more?" The last was directed at Piranth, who ducked her head down and looked abashed. The man chuckled again, and the pair settled down in one of the cots.

Rheannon looked up and saw L'ary coming. "That's my cue. I'll see you around later." With a wave, Rheannon ducked off, heading back to the barracks.

L'ary glaned at Piranth, and waited for the man to finish his check-up. She seems fine. I'll go grab a bucket of water for her. Remember, only water, and I'll be back in a candlemark to make sure that she can hold that down before deciding about getting her fed." He scampered off, leaving S'am to the wrath of the Werylingmaster.

S'am looked up, expecting L'ary to be fuming. Instead, he stood there, trying to suppress a smile. "I take it you learned your lesson about paying attention?"

"Uh, yes sir Werylingmaster." Then she thought for a second. "But we didn't cover over-feeding yet…"

"We did, but you were too busy looking all starry-eyed at Piranth here to listen to me." His voice was stern, but not harsh.

S'am's brow furrowed as she thought. "Well, why didn't you yell at me like you used to do when we were candidates?"

"Do you think that an upset tummy is the worst thing that can happen to your dragon if you continue to ignore your training?" His voice had gotten soft now, and somehow it was worse than a shout, making S'am feel ashamed. S'am ducked her head, finding her bare feet suddenly very interesting. "Well, do you?"

"No sir." She mumbled softly. Piranth put her head into S'am's lap, humming softly. S'am went back to rubbing her dragonet's head all over, from her small headknobs down to the tip of her chin.

"And now, you've learned to pay attention in a way that I'm sure you'll never forget. And all it took was an upset stomach. Plus, you will serve as an example to the others, showing the light price for inattention. She'll be fine, S'am, I've seen this before. But you need to pay attention. If you don't follow your movement drills, or properly visualize a destination, or over fly your dragon, the consequences will be much, much more dire. So from now on, when I'm speaking, I want your full attention, understand?" His voice was still soft.

S'am gently pushed Piranth's head off of her lap, and stood, coming to full attention. "Yes sir, Weyrlingmaster." She met his eyes, and saw a faint glimmer of approval.

"Now, your punishment is one full sevenday cleaning the dragonet latrine by the barracks. No one is to help you. I will make sure that the cleaning supplies are available to you between breakfast and midday meal, and I expect by midday that the area will be suitably cleaned out. Is that understood?" The last was delivered in the bark that she had expected, and S'am felt herself relax a bit. Like he had said, she would be fine, and from now on S'am would work harder on making everyone proud.

"Yes sir!"

"Good. Now, rest here until Piranth is released. At daybreak we'll be meeting by the lake to butcher more meat for our hungry dragonets. Remember, the first line only. Dismissed!"

S'am sat back down, and L'ary headed out. The young man, who had been conspicuously absent during their talk, came back with water that Piranth gratefully slurped. He smiled crookedly, and introduced himself. "Rider E'nar of blue Tralianth." And suddenly, S'am recognized him. His name had been Eolnar before Impressing two turns ago. He had been one of the wild weyrbrats that had run with her and C'sey.

"Thank you, Rider E'nar. We'll stay put until you give us permission to leave." And then S'am winked at him,a nd gave him a quick hug. "I haven't seen you in all of this time! Dragon healer, huh? Tell me all about it, if you have the time."

"I do, it's been slow in here this morning."

The two sat down, discussing what had happened the past couple of turns, while Piranth rested.


	23. Chapter 23

A/N: Thanks for all of the positive feedback! It's funny, because it feels like this story is soooo slow, but it seems like everyone is enjoying Weyrling training. Eventually there will be adventure and whatnot, but that won't be for a while, especially with how long everything takes to write down! Also, sorry for the errors in this, I've re-read some sections and it looks like I have some touching-up to do... Anyways, enjoy!

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><p><strong>Chapter 23<strong>

The candlemark passed while the two chatted about what was coming up in Weyrling training. With E'nar's help, S'am now had a better grasp of what to expect, and she also understood why she had lost contact with so many of the local weyrbrats that had Impressed. All too soon, it seemed like it was time to go.

E'nar looked over Piranth one last time, and judged her fit to head back to the Weyrling barracks. "If you want to avoid an upset tummy in the future, little Piranth, you need to remember to play first, and eat afterwards. Playing on a full stomach can sometimes cause upset. I'm sure S'am here will help you with that." He patted S'am on the shoulder as the pair left the dragon healer cavern. "Don't sweat this kind of thing too much, S'am. It happens at least once per Weryling class, sometimes two or three times. Piranth already looks much better. Just be sure to keep an eye on how much and when she eats, and you two will do just fine. See you around!"

"See you around!" And with that, S'am waved one last time and walked with Piranth back down to the barracks.

_I'm not really sleepy, why are we heading back to bed?_ S'am noticed that Piranth's gait had recovered much of its characteristic bounce.

S"am stifled a yawn. "Because I am still sleepy. Do you think you can rest for a little bit, and then we can play?"

_I suppose. But then we play._

"Yes, then we'll play."

Once back in the barracks, S'am fell right to sleep. It seemed like in no time Piranth was nudging her awake again, and this time S'am noticed the hustle and buzz around her as the other Weyrlings got up to start their day. S'am stretched, feeling much better despite the fact that she could've slept even longer, and headed outside into the dawn air.

The majority of the class was gathered around the lake, bathing and oiling the many dragonets. Dragonets frolicked in the shallows, splashing both other dragonets and Weyrlings alike. S'am and Piranth joined into the fun, Piranth pouncing on Fasath's tail while S'am splashed J'on as he turned around.

J'on laughed and splashed back. "You know," he said as the water fight went deeper into the lake, "I'm kind of glad that I Impressed Fasath here, rather than getting one of the hatchlings at Benden. It gets really cold there, especially in the early morning!"

S'am had a thoughtful look on her face. "I'd be willing to bet that bathing a dragon is much more fun in warm weather than in cold." She splashed J'on full in the face then.

He spluttered a bit. "I'd take that bet, but I agree with you and you're already in a bet with C'sey. Too much more betting and you'll be the poorest dragonrider in Pern's history." He lunged up and pushed S'am down into the water then, laughing lightly. She resurfaced, shaking water out of her eyes.

_Are you okay?_ S'am looked over and saw Piranth paddling out to her, all four legs pumping in the water as her tail streamed out behind.

S'am replied, "Fine love."

She heard J'on say, "I didn't hurt her, it's a game!" simultaneously.

This set them both off laughing, and they lightly splashed each other. Shortly, they were joined by Myranth and Rheannon, Nath and C'sey, and Porianth and J'dann. The friends all swam around lazily, calling encouragement to their dragonets as they started swimming. The other Weyrlings saw what was happening, and next thing there the dark golden hide of Wierenath swimming, and the brown hides of Chelaruth and Chavenarth, and the light blue Tueth. The riders joined in as well, everyone laughing and having a great time. All but a few, who stood and muttered amongst themselves, their dragonets sitting next to them. S'am noticed that and felt sorry for the baby dragons, a couple which looked torn between making their lifemates happy and wanting to join in on the fun.

"It makes you feel sorry for the wee ones, doesn't it?" The soft voice belonged to R'ver, and S'am turned to face him.

"I was just thinking that." She murmured. "I guess some people just don't get that now is when we can have fun. Pretty soon our lives will be nothing but learning and work. We might as well have fun now." R'ver nodded agreement. "Say, what happened with that girl yesterday?"

"She left. I found her a rider and she was taken home. Poor thing, life in the Weyr can be fun, even for those not chosen, as long as you keep the right attitude. And she could've stood for the next clutch." He shrugged a slender shoulder. "Oh well. Her loss, someone else's gain, I guess."

"Yeah." Piranth paddled out to her, her eyelids starting to droop. "Well, girly, let's get back to shore. I'll get you sanded and oiled, and we'll see about breakfast. Sound good?"

_That sounds great. I wonder how much swimming is like flying?_ There was a brief pause. _Gartanth says not much, but that swimming is fun anyways._

"You just spoke to Gartanth? Just like that?" S'am's eyes searched the Weyr, but she didn't see any dragon that reminded her of her dad's.

_Of course. I had a question, and asked, and he was the first to respond to it. What was I supposed to do, sit here and wonder?_ It almost sounded like Piranth was lightly laughing at S'am.

"Well, no, but… Well, I don't know! I didn't know that dragonets spoke to the older dragons." Piranth's feet could touch bottom now, and she waddled up the sandy shoreline towards where the buckets of scrubbing sand were. "I guess I just never thought about it. So, you have a question, and you just ask for an answer, and one of them answers?"

_Yep._

"Well, what else have you asked them about?"

_What it feels like to hunt, what it feels like to fly, what _between _feels like. You know, dragon stuff._

"Dragon stuff, huh? Well, I hope they are helpful to you."

_Some are more helpful than others._

"Can you tell what color the dragons are that talk to you?"

_Yes._

"Do greens tend to talk to you more? Or anyone?"

_ Gartanth talks to me the most, it seems, but anyone who isn't busy will talk to me. It doesn't matter so much to the dragons what color I am. It seems like only humans worry about that kind of thing._ Piranth seemed to shrug. This wasn't something that really worried her.

S'am started scrubbing, starting along Piranth's dorsal ridges, and then lightly scrubbing the hide along her belly. Piranth would tell S'am if a specific area needed to be scrubbed more, and when it felt just right. Even though scrubbing down her entire dragon was tiring work, S'am found herself enjoying it, smiling slightly to herself. The two kept talking while she worked.

Once the scrubbing was done, S'am had Piranth waddle the rest of the way out of the water. Piranth spread her wings for balance, and concentrated on not dragging her tail through the sand until they got to the spot where the buckets of oil waited. S'am picked up a rag, and started applying oil to Piranth's hide, rubbing until it shone, a dark emerald green, with a blue-green metallic sheen.

Rukbat rose, as did the temperature. S'am worked up a sweat, and wished she could dive back into the lake.

_We could go swimming again, it was fun._

"No girl. You're a bit tired still, and it would undo all of our work oiling you. Are you hungry again?"

_Of course. Gartanth says I won't always be this hungry. That once I'm his size I'll be able to days without eating._

"And you'll be able to hunt for yourself. Hm, speaking of food, here comes the morning delivery." S'am looked up as a line of older Weyrlings and their dragons deposited freshly-killed carcasses. "Guess I know what I'll be doing after you settle down for a nap."

_Will I grow as big as Gartanth? _Piranth's head snaked around so that she was looking directly at S'am, her eyes whirling gently.

"Probably not, love. You're a green, and he's a bronze. They get much bigger than greens." She carefully applied oil to Piranth's head, careful of her eyes and nostrils, making sure that it was rubbed all the way in so that it didn't drip down.

_That feels so nice. The bigger ones also say that I won't need to be oiled as often, either. I'll miss this._

S'am smiled. "We'll have so many other things to do together. I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait to fly with you."

_That will be fun. I can't wait either. Now, about that breakfast…_

S'am laughed, and followed after the walking appetite that was her growing green Piranth.


	24. Chapter 24

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I think I must be one of the very few people whose schedule gets more complicated when I'm on break from school. ;) That said, school's back in and everything is settling back down into its normal pattern, so here is our next installment of "Weyrling Drama!" Hope you all enjoy. :D

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><p><strong>Chapter 24<strong>

The next sevenday passed by quickly as the days fell into a pattern. Piranth would wake early in the morning, demanding to be oiled, bathed, and fed. S'am would oblige her, usually with a great deal of playing with the other early-rising Weyrling pairs, and the dragonet would then take a nap in the sun. S'am would then head off to butcher meat, filling at least one bucket to the bottom-most line, making sure that the pieces were small enough for the young dragons.

After that would come morning lecture, which dealt with possible ailments in the young dragonets. The first was about stomach upsets, and S'am herself was the "guest of honor." She described to the other Weyrlings what the upset had felt like, coming from her dragon, and how it had even caused her own stomach to be touchy throughout the day. L'ary made sure that everyone walked away understanding that over-feeding a dragon could happen easily, and that the rider sometimes had to restrain their dragon, despite the dragon's desires.

After lecture, S'am would be sent off to the dragon latrines while the others all left to eat a quick bite of brunch. The area reeked of dragon waste. It was explained to S'am that the latrines needed to be cleaned out regularly to keep the smell and the possibility of disease down. The dragonets would utilize this area until they were old enough to fly, at which point they would use a large compost area just outside of the Weyr proper. Latrine cleaning also made Bathing a necessity for S'am, as she found that she walked away smelling of chemicals and feces. She would scrub herself very thouroughly, paying special attention to her hands, and would dump her dirty clothes into the wash bin.

The first day, J'on met her outside of the baths with a meatroll and some fruit that she could eat on her way back outside. "We figured we could do this to help, without getting all of us into trouble," he explained, grinning sheepishly and blushing slightly. "I'm sure you're hungry."

"You know, now that you mention it, I'm starving! When that smell first hit my nose I thought I was going to be sick, but now that I'm all clean I feel much more like eating!" She took the meatroll eagerly, and chomped it down. When she was done, he provided a skin filled with water that she drank from eagerly, washing the crumbly roll down. She thanked J'on profusely, and together they headed back outside to their waiting dragonets. From that day until the end of her punishment, there was always one of her friends waiting with a bite for her to eat and some easy, companionable chatter.

As the dragonets stirred, the Weyrlings jumped to action, bathing, oiling, feeding, and playing with their new friends. After all of the necessary duties were completed, the dragonets would all join in a number of games, from "follow-the-leader" to "hide-and-seek" to "Weyrlingmaster says". At first, the dragonets wanted to do anything but pay attention, but as the sevenday progressed the attention span of the baby dragons increased. Piranth was hard to control at first, only ever wanting to pounce on the dragonet nearest her. After their first lecture about rider discipline, S'am found herself trying harder to control the strong-willed dragonet, despite the fact that this led to many a sulky silence from her lifemate. Piranth decided to make a game of the new rules, and started seeing if S'am could anticipate when she was going to act up. S'am found that as the sevenday drew to a close, more often than not she could almost feel when Piranth was about to get up to no good, although there were times when Piranth was able to surprise her rider.

The dragonets also increased in size. Where at hatching they were all close to the same size, by the end of the sevenday the young bronzes were significantly larger than their smaller green and blue siblings, and all of the colors were dwarfed by the sparkling queen. As friendships grew between all of the Weyrlings, the young queenrider held herself apart. S'am saw J'rome try to approach her, and snickered as he was rebuffed. But Shihanna also refused to become friendly with C'sey and J'on, holding herself aloof from all of the other Weyrlings.

After the afternoon activities had left the dragonets tired out, it was dinnertime for the riders and naptime for the dragonets. The Weyrlings would settle down their charges, and then would all head in their respective cliques to the dining hall. The conversation frequently covered the attitudes of the Weyrlings not in S'am's clique.

"I think she's afraid to get to know anyone else." R'ver said over dinner one evening. "She knows there is a lot expected of her, and that's got to make becoming friendly with anyone incredibly intimidating."

"Perhaps." Rheannon said softly. "She didn't have much time before the Hatching to get to know any of us, and after she's been thrust into this position of pseudo-authority. Like you said, it can't make the already-difficult task of making friends any easier."

S'am shrugged. She figured the girl was just a self-possessed tail-fork, but decided to keep that opinion to herself, as everyone else seemed inclined to be pitying of the beautiful girl's position. S'am still remembered the way Shihanna had crooked a finger, and sent S'am's best friend chasing after her. She was hard-pressed to feel anything but mild contempt for someone who would use the color of their dragon to get attention like that.

_Maybe that is why she holds herself apart._ Piranth's voice, soft with sleepiness, sounded in S'am's mind.

_How do you mean?_ S'am asked.

_She knows that it is her dragon's color that sends the men chasing after her, not her personality or even her looks. Maybe she's waiting for someone to try and become her friend, and that person has to show that the friendship has nothing to do with the fact that Wierenath is gold._

_That sounds like an impossible proposition. How could someone prove something like that?_

_I have no idea. I just think that may be what's behind her coldness. _Something that felt like a yawn came from Piranth's end, and S'am could feel the dragon's mind slipping into the oblivion of sleep. S'am took another sip of klah, and settled back, considering the wise words that had come from such an unexpected source.


	25. Chapter 25

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay. I think I must be one of the very few people whose schedule gets more complicated when I'm on break from school. ;) That said, school's back in and everything is settling back down into its normal pattern, so here is our next installment of "Weyrling Drama!" Hope you all enjoy. :D

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24<strong>

The next sevenday passed by quickly as the days fell into a pattern. Piranth would wake early in the morning, demanding to be oiled, bathed, and fed. S'am would oblige her, usually with a great deal of playing with the other early-rising Weyrling pairs, and the dragonet would then take a nap in the sun. S'am would then head off to butcher meat, filling at least one bucket to the bottom-most line, making sure that the pieces were small enough for the young dragons.

After that would come morning lecture, which dealt with possible ailments in the young dragonets. The first was about stomach upsets, and S'am herself was the "guest of honor." She described to the other Weyrlings what the upset had felt like, coming from her dragon, and how it had even caused her own stomach to be touchy throughout the day. L'ary made sure that everyone walked away understanding that over-feeding a dragon could happen easily, and that the rider sometimes had to restrain their dragon, despite the dragon's desires.

After lecture, S'am would be sent off to the dragon latrines while the others all left to eat a quick bite of brunch. The area reeked of dragon waste. It was explained to S'am that the latrines needed to be cleaned out regularly to keep the smell and the possibility of disease down. The dragonets would utilize this area until they were old enough to fly, at which point they would use a large compost area just outside of the Weyr proper. Latrine cleaning also made Bathing a necessity for S'am, as she found that she walked away smelling of chemicals and feces. She would scrub herself very thouroughly, paying special attention to her hands, and would dump her dirty clothes into the wash bin.

The first day, J'on met her outside of the baths with a meatroll and some fruit that she could eat on her way back outside. "We figured we could do this to help, without getting all of us into trouble," he explained, grinning sheepishly and blushing slightly. "I'm sure you're hungry."

"You know, now that you mention it, I'm starving! When that smell first hit my nose I thought I was going to be sick, but now that I'm all clean I feel much more like eating!" She took the meatroll eagerly, and chomped it down. When she was done, he provided a skin filled with water that she drank from eagerly, washing the crumbly roll down. She thanked J'on profusely, and together they headed back outside to their waiting dragonets. From that day until the end of her punishment, there was always one of her friends waiting with a bite for her to eat and some easy, companionable chatter.

As the dragonets stirred, the Weyrlings jumped to action, bathing, oiling, feeding, and playing with their new friends. After all of the necessary duties were completed, the dragonets would all join in a number of games, from "follow-the-leader" to "hide-and-seek" to "Weyrlingmaster says". At first, the dragonets wanted to do anything but pay attention, but as the sevenday progressed the attention span of the baby dragons increased. Piranth was hard to control at first, only ever wanting to pounce on the dragonet nearest her. After their first lecture about rider discipline, S'am found herself trying harder to control the strong-willed dragonet, despite the fact that this led to many a sulky silence from her lifemate. Piranth decided to make a game of the new rules, and started seeing if S'am could anticipate when she was going to act up. S'am found that as the sevenday drew to a close, more often than not she could almost feel when Piranth was about to get up to no good, although there were times when Piranth was able to surprise her rider.

The dragonets also increased in size. Where at hatching they were all close to the same size, by the end of the sevenday the young bronzes were significantly larger than their smaller green and blue siblings, and all of the colors were dwarfed by the sparkling queen. As friendships grew between all of the Weyrlings, the young queenrider held herself apart. S'am saw J'rome try to approach her, and snickered as he was rebuffed. But Shihanna also refused to become friendly with C'sey and J'on, holding herself aloof from all of the other Weyrlings.

After the afternoon activities had left the dragonets tired out, it was dinnertime for the riders and naptime for the dragonets. The Weyrlings would settle down their charges, and then would all head in their respective cliques to the dining hall. The conversation frequently covered the attitudes of the Weyrlings not in S'am's clique.

"I think she's afraid to get to know anyone else." R'ver said over dinner one evening. "She knows there is a lot expected of her, and that's got to make becoming friendly with anyone incredibly intimidating."

"Perhaps." Rheannon said softly. "She didn't have much time before the Hatching to get to know any of us, and after she's been thrust into this position of pseudo-authority. Like you said, it can't make the already-difficult task of making friends any easier."

S'am shrugged. She figured the girl was just a self-possessed tail-fork, but decided to keep that opinion to herself, as everyone else seemed inclined to be pitying of the beautiful girl's position. S'am still remembered the way Shihanna had crooked a finger, and sent S'am's best friend chasing after her. She was hard-pressed to feel anything but mild contempt for someone who would use the color of their dragon to get attention like that.

_Maybe that is why she holds herself apart._ Piranth's voice, soft with sleepiness, sounded in S'am's mind.

_How do you mean?_ S'am asked.

_She knows that it is her dragon's color that sends the men chasing after her, not her personality or even her looks. Maybe she's waiting for someone to try and become her friend, and that person has to show that the friendship has nothing to do with the fact that Wierenath is gold._

_That sounds like an impossible proposition. How could someone prove something like that?_

_I have no idea. I just think that may be what's behind her coldness. _Something that felt like a yawn came from Piranth's end, and S'am could feel the dragon's mind slipping into the oblivion of sleep. S'am took another sip of klah, and settled back, considering the wise words that had come from such an unexpected source.

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><p>AN: My computer got a virus, and I had to nuke the sight from orbit (formatreload). In that process, I lost everything I had worked on before. I'm feeling a bit disheartened about that, so I'm putting this story on ice for a while. Thanks to everyone that read this, and reviewed. :D I hope you all enjoyed it, and hopefully someday I'll get off of my butt and reclaim this, but for now I have to say, "Adieu." :)

-Bammer


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